The EU has agreed to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months. Hungary is ready to give the "green light" if three individuals are excluded from the sanctions list, according to a statement by Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty correspondent Rikard Jozwiak, Bloomberg, and RBC-Ukraine's own sources.
According to Bloomberg, the EU has initiated a written procedure to extend sanctions against the Russian Federation for another six months. The process is expected to continue until tomorrow morning.
This comes after three individuals were removed from the sanctions list at Budapest’s request.
Jozwiak previously reported that Hungary agreed to give the "green light" only after three out of the eight individuals it had requested for removal were excluded from the sanctions list.
Meanwhile, RBC-Ukraine sources reported that on the evening of March 13, EU ambassadors made significant progress in extending sanctions against Russia, which are set to expire on March 15.
Sources close to the negotiations noted that the details and conditions of the agreements remain unknown for now. They are expected to be finalized tomorrow.
The extension of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine is usually a routine procedure. However, after former US President Donald Trump won the election in November, Hungary began blocking these decisions.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, known for his pro-Russian stance and as an ally of Trump, created tensions over the sanctions extension earlier this year, though he eventually agreed.
This time, Hungary demanded the removal of eight individuals from the sanctions list to support the extension. Meanwhile, Luxembourg pushed for the removal of oligarch Mikhail Fridman from the list, though he will remain under restrictions.
It is important to note that imposing sanctions against Russia requires unanimous approval from all 27 EU member states.
