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Hungary believes EU should abandon its sanctions policy, says top diplomat

Peter Szijjarto reiterated that the EU had hoped to achieve an end to the military conflict in Ukraine, but failed

BUDAPEST, November 15./TASS/. The Hungarian government believes that the European Union should renounce its sanctions policy and should not accept a ninth package of sanctions against Russia, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told a news conference following talks with his Romanian counterpart Bogdan Aurescu on Tuesday.

The top diplomat noted that EU sanctions had failed to reach their goal and were inflicting great damage on the European economy. "We believe it is time to reconsider this whole policy of action and not to resort to a ninth package of sanctions [against Russia]," Szijjarto said.

He reiterated that the EU had hoped to achieve an end to the military conflict in Ukraine, but failed. Now, he said, some politicians are claiming that "the EU never expected these sanctions to stop the war." "So, then what was their purpose?" the foreign minister asked, adding that he saw the behavior of some of his European colleagues as hypocritical.

Recently, the Hungarian government has come out strongly against the adoption of new sanctions against Russia and, in particular, the work on a ninth sanctions package, which could include additional restrictive measures in the energy sector.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics, he had decided to carry out a special military operation, after which the US, EU states, the UK, as well as some other nations, imposed sanctions against Russian persons and legal entities, and subsequently accelerated arms supplies to the Kiev regime.