Russia Hungary forces EU sanctions against Russians to be lifted
Hungary has used its right of veto to force the lifting of EU sanctions against several Russians. The persons who will no longer be on the EU sanctions list include oligarch Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor, as several diplomats confirmed to the German Press Agency. The list also includes a sister of the well-known Russian entrepreneur Alisher Usmanov and two other people.
14.03.2025, 11:45
SDA
According to diplomats, Hungary's means of exerting pressure was the extension of Russia sanctions, which are due to expire this Saturday and affect a total of around 2,200 people and organizations. The decision requires a unanimous decision by the 27 EU member states. Hungary threatened to block this if several Russians were not removed from the list.
Orbán does not consider Russia sanctions to be effective
The exact background to Hungary's action is unclear. However, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has already stated several times that he does not consider the EU's Russia sanctions to be effective.
EU sanctions generally include travel restrictions, the freezing of assets and a ban on the provision of funds or other economic resources. In most cases, they were imposed in response to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, which in the EU's view was unjustified and unprovoked.
The risk of Hungary's advance
There had been weeks of discussion about Hungary's demands because a number of member states initially refused to accept them. The risk is that the lifting of sanctions could provide other Russians with arguments for legal action against punitive measures.
For example, the sanctions decision against Kantor stated that he had close ties to President Vladimir Putin, which had helped him to secure his considerable fortune. He had openly expressed his support and friendship for Putin on numerous occasions and maintained good relations with the Kremlin. As a result, he had benefited from Russian decision-makers who were responsible for the illegal annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia or the destabilization of Ukraine. According to the EU, Kantor is a major shareholder in one of Russia's largest fertilizer manufacturers.
