Hungary’s Orbán says sanctions on Russia will ‘destroy’ EU economy

Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s prime minister says the European Union must abandon its policy of sanctioning Russia for its war in Ukraine or risk causing an economic collapse. The EU has imposed several rounds of sanctions against Moscow since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The sanctions have targeted the energy sector, banks, the world’s biggest diamond mining company and other businesses. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, widely seen as Putin’s closest EU ally, has broken with the majority of European leaders and vocally opposed such sanctions. The Hungarian leader on Friday said the EU’s sanction regime “should be reviewed,” and that further sanctions would “destroy the European economy.”