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Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday that banning Russian oil would amount to dropping a nuclear bomb on his country’s economy, as he promised to pursue changes to a sixth package of European sanctions.
Mr Orban said Hungary would need five years to phase out Russian oil rather than the seven months proposed by the European Union or the two or three-year grace period sought by other member states.
Speaking to public radio, Mr Orban – long regarded as the EU’s most Moscow-friendly leader – questioned whether such a five-year overhaul would be worth it when the war in Ukraine might be over by then.
Banning Russian oil any sooner would be “an atomic bomb against the Hungarian economy,” said the recently re-elected Mr Orban, who insisted he was not being deliberately difficult but merely representing his country’s interests.
“We need five years for this whole process to be completed ... one to one-and-a-half years is not enough for anything.”
The proposed oil ban is the centrepiece of the sixth round of sanctions on Russia put forward this week by the European Commission, which would need to be signed off by all 27 member states before taking effect.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants crude oil imports phased out within six months and refined products by the end of the year, in an embargo that would cover both pipelines and tankers.
She said in a speech on Friday that diplomats had to tread a fine line to damage Russia but not Europe, because the EU's economic weight was a powerful lever for supporting Ukraine.
But “we cannot in the long run send large sums to a country that attacks our neighbours with an unjustifiable war,” she said.
Ambassadors to the EU, who typically seek consensus on sanctions before they are formally voted on by the European Council, were meeting in Brussels on Thursday after an initial round of talks was described as inconclusive.
Supporters of a ban, such as Poland and Lithuania, say an embargo is necessary to deprive the Kremlin of one of its main sources of income and a geopolitical stranglehold over its neighbours.
But Hungary is not alone in fearing the economic consequences at a time when fuel prices are already soaring. Slovakia and the Czech Republic, landlocked like Hungary, have likewise said they need more time to replace Russian pipelines.
Diplomats have not ruled out offering exemptions to particularly import-reliant countries, with Bulgaria saying that it too would like an opt-out if it is available.
However, Mr Orban suggested he regarded some of this opposition as softer than Hungary’s. “There are countries that sometimes speak, but in the end the Hungarian government is often left alone in the vote,” he said.
Hungary has irritated Ukraine with an equivocal stance on the war and by refusing to send weapons, although it did not stand in the way of five earlier rounds of sanctions including a ban on Russian coal. It is still working with Russia's state-owned Rosatom on upgrading a Hungarian nuclear power plant.
Germany and Austria had initially opposed oil sanctions but softened their stance after making progress on replacing Russian imports at home. France said it was hopeful that sanctions could be agreed on this week.
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Family members mourn at the graveside of soldier Yuri Varyanytsia during the burial of three soldiers in the Field of Mars at Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A pedestrian takes a picture as she walks past the wreckage of a Russian armoured vehicle outside the National Museum of Military History of Ukraine in Kyiv. AFP -
A man rides his bicycle over a heavily damaged bridge near Pechenegi village in the Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP -
Pro-Russian troops fire from a tank near the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Reuters -
Workers sew uniforms and material for flack jackets at a military clothing factory in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A dog provides company at a flat damaged by a missile attack in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
Patron, a dog trained by Ukrainian forces to sniff out explosives, near Kyiv. EPA -
Lone skater Roman Kovalenko, 18, amid the damage at Peace Square in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. All of his friends have fled. AFP -
A Ukrainian sapper carries unexploded materiel during demining works at an airport in the town of Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. AFP -
Shelling of the Azovstal steel plant complex in Mariupol. Reuters -
Violinist Irene Duval rehearses before a fundraiser to support Ukrainians arriving in the UK, at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London. PA -
A serviceman stands guard at the destroyed Ukrainian Antonov An-225 'Mriya' cargo aircraft in Hostomel. AFP -
Galina Malets falls to her knees before the funeral service for her brother, fallen soldier Igor Malets, 59, in Lviv. Getty -
Explosions at the Azovstal steel plant in besieged Mariupol, where Ukrainian forces continue to hold out against Russian invaders. AFP -
A Ukrainian woman collects her belongings after her apartment was damaged by a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
An apartment block damaged by a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
Devastation around an apartment block hit by a missile in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
Ukrainian men at the site of a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
An elderly refugee from Avdiivka, eastern Ukraine, at a lunch provided by church group Awakening in Pokrovsk. AFP -
Natalia Rudneva, 59, was injured in overnight shelling in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, that put her son in hospital. AP -
Shocked occupants of an apartment building in Kramatorsk, Donbas, that was destroyed by overnight shelling . AP -
A man outside his house in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine. The sign reads 'Bomb shelter, children'. AP -
A woman passes Donetsk People's Republic militia tanks in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine. AP -
A refugee camp outside Mariupol, in territory controlled by the government of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic. AP -
The damaged St Godmothers Cover Church next to a bullet-riddled Ukrainian flag in Malyn, Ukraine. Getty Images -
St Godmothers Cover Church, in Malyn, Ukraine. Getty Images -
The ruins of an apartment building in Borodianka, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Firefighters from the self-declared Donetsk People Republic Emergency Situations Ministry battle a blaze at an oil depot after missiles struck the facility in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Makiivka, 15 kilometres east of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. AP -
People wait for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to begin a speech televised on a screen in City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark. Reuters -
An aerial view of the destroyed Hotel Ukraine in the northern city of Chernigiv. AFP -
A woman who recently lost her husband arrives with her dog at a charity centre in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
A family of Ukrainian evacuees near a donation collection point in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Reuters -
The ruins of a residential building in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv, which was heavily damaged during the Russian invasion. AFP -
People pay their respects during the funeral for Ukrainian serviceman Ruslan Borovyk in St Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv. AP -
Crew chiefs and engineers with the 158th Fighter Wing meet before launching F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation aircraft at the Vermont Air National Guard Base, South Burlington, US. More than 200 Vermont air guard personnel, plus equipment and eight F-35s, are now in Europe. AP -
Svitlana, 36, holds her sons Artem, 7, and Kyrylo, 5, while sheltering in a kindergarten in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Men report to enlist in Ukrainian Territorial Defence Force units in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A burning oil storage unit on the outskirts of Donetsk, Ukraine. Reuters -
Russian MiG-29SMT jet fighters, forming the symbol Z in support of Russian military action in Ukraine, fly over Red Square in Moscow during a rehearsal for the Second World War Victory Parade on May 9, 2022. AFP -
A warehouse after shelling in Severodonetsk, as fighting rages across Ukraine's east after a US warning that Moscow is preparing to formally annex eastern regions. AFP -
Katya, 11, waits for her mother's treatment to end at the Severodonetsk Hospital in Severodonetsk. AFP -
Antonina, 60, at a funeral home where she works and now lives with neighbours in Severodonetsk. AFP -
A Russian serviceman patrols a street near the sea port of Berdyansk, Ukraine. AFP -
A woman during the rally in front of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office in Kyiv. AFP -
Svitlana Karpenko, 53, at what is left of her house in Sloboda, Chernihiv region, Ukraine. She said it was destroyed by shelling. Reuters -
The turret from a destroyed Russian tank stuck in the ground in Zalissia, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Lyubov Lenko, 61, in front of her house in Budy, Chernihiv region, Ukraine, that she says was destroyed by shelling. Reuters -
Nina Stefuryak, 2, playing in a park in front of a building destroyed by shelling in Borodianka, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Mealtime at a centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia. AP -
Volunteers assist a man after his arrival from Mariupol at a centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia. AP -
People disembark a van to be registered by police after arriving in Zaporizhzhia. Getty Images -
Firefighters damp down the ashes of a fire that destroyed a children's play area in Gorky Park in Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA -
A woman touches a piano as she inspects the damage in a classroom after shelling at Kharkiv National Kotlyarevsky University of Arts. EPA -
US President Joe Biden and Lockheed Martin chief executive Jim Taiclet with Javelin anti-tank missile assembly workers during a tour of a Lockheed Martin weapons factory in Troy, Alabama, US. Reuters -
Residents collect humanitarian aid in Borodyanka, Ukraine. Getty Images
Ukraine wants gas banned as well but the commission has not yet proposed this. The EU is especially reliant on Russian gas supplies and exporter Gazprom last week stopped flows to Poland and Bulgaria for refusing to pay in roubles.
The sixth sanctions package also includes proposals to target Russia’s largest bank, ban its state media from all platforms in the EU and penalise more prominent Russian figures including military commanders accused of war crimes.
Hungary again dissented by saying it would oppose any sanctions against the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill. Mr Orban said this was an issue of religious freedom.
The cleric is a longstanding ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has made public statements supporting the war in Ukraine.
