US President Biden says he won’t send rockets to Ukraine that could reach Russia

European Union officers are renewing efforts to agree on a Russian oil embargo on Monday, after a tough weekend of talks led to impasse and delayed a sixth spherical of European sanctions in opposition to Moscow.

The EU’s 27 ambassadors failed to seek out an settlement on Sunday evening, an official advised journalists in Brussels, however talks continued on Monday forward of a rare assembly of European leaders later within the day.

The bloc has repeatedly struggled to get international locations together with Hungary on facet when negotiating Russian sanctions, and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has for weeks resisted the potential of banning the import of Russian oil.

“I feel what I’ve seen within the room is that there’s a willingness from all member states to work on oil and to ban oil from European markets,” an EU official advised reporters Sunday.

“The query is, how one can do it and how one can cater for nationwide specificities since some member states are extra depending on this than others.”

“Should you goal oil, you will have sure international locations which might be 100% depending on Russian oil, and the part out is kind of a problem. So, that is what it’s essential to tremendous tune,” the official mentioned.

‘Tough’ negotiations: In a separate briefing, a senior diplomat from an EU nation advised journalists that the technicalities of an oil embargo had been “extraordinarily tough” to resolve. And international locations like Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Slovakia had been nonetheless searching for assurances over safety of provide points. 

The senior EU diplomat additionally defined that, given the complexity of the oil sector throughout Europe, the EU has to “be very cautious within the crafting of laws and conclusions” with the intention to protect the level-playing-field of the EU’s inner market. 

The diplomat anticipated the problem of oil and the sixth spherical of sanctions to be mentioned by leaders on the extraordinary European Council (EUCO) assembly Monday, however didn’t suppose the heads of state and authorities would be capable of remedy technical points.

“I feel we at the moment are within the final stretch of attempting to get this executed,” they added. 

The place Hungary stands: Whereas Orban finally agreed to the EU’s earlier rounds of sanctions in opposition to Russia, he has repeatedly mentioned he wouldn’t assist a ban on Russian oil and gasoline.

“Whereas we condemn Russia’s armed offensive and we additionally condemn the battle, we is not going to enable Hungarian households to be made to pay the value of the battle; and so the sanctions should not be prolonged to the areas of oil and gasoline,” Orban mentioned in an announcement following bilateral talks in London with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in March.

That place was a central plank in Orban’s marketing campaign for re-election, which he secured in a ballot in April. Hungary is closely depending on Russian power and Orban has declined to sentence Putin’s invasion as unambiguously as most of his colleagues on the continent.

However there may be rising frustration in Europe together with his stance.

“Intense talks are ongoing” on a Russian oil embargo, German Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister for Financial Affairs Robert Habeck advised CNN on Friday. However “the query is whether or not Viktor Orban, Hungary, [is] prepared to remain within the solidarity of Europe and the transatlantic partnership, and proper now it doesn’t appear this fashion.”