Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that he blocked the inclusion of Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church and Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzia in the EU sanctions list.
Points of attention
- Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto blocked EU sanctions against Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church and diplomat Nebenzia, citing the preservation of hope for peace.
- Hungary secured an exemption for exports of Russian oil products in the 15th package of EU sanctions against Russia.
- Szijjarto's opposition to imposing sanctions on church leaders and officials stemmed from the belief that it could jeopardize the last hope for peace.
Szijjarto “saved” Patriarch Kirill and Nebenzia from EU sanctions
He said this at a press conference following the meeting of the heads of foreign ministries of the European Union countries on December 16.
Szijjártó explained that he did not block the introduction of the 15th package of EU sanctions against Russia because it provides an exception for Hungary regarding the export of products processed from Russian oil.
This was important to us, and since we managed to remove the crazy ideas from this sanctions package, we did not veto it.
The head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry included the imposition of sanctions on the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill, which has been blocked since 2022 due to Budapest's opposition, among such "crazy ideas."
I believe that imposing sanctions on church leaders and officials should be avoided at all costs, because if we cannot speak among ourselves along church lines, the last hope for peace will be lost.
Peter Szijjarto
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary
He also said that the EU planned to impose sanctions on Russia's UN ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, and called it strange because the UN is "the last refuge where political consultations are held" and sanctions "would cut off another final path to peace."
The EU Council adopted the 15th package of sanctions against Russia
On December 16, the EU Council adopted the 15th package of economic and individual restrictive measures against Russia, which included North Korean officials and Chinese suppliers of drone kits.
As part of the package, the EU imposed sanctions on 54 individuals and 30 organizations.
These measures are designed to counter sanctions evasion by targeting the Russian "shadow fleet" and to weaken the Russian military-industrial complex.
