BUDAPEST, February 5. /TASS/. Hungary objects to further EU sanctions against Russia and will spare no effort to prevent any additional restrictions on energy and nuclear cooperation with Russia, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said after a phone call with his Estonian counterpart, Margus Tsahkna.

According to Szijjarto, this topic was raised during their telephone conversation. "We think that the sanctions policy has failed. So, we see no point in adopting new sanctions packages," he said.

He said that during the EU ambassadorial meeting in Brussels last weekend, Hungary made it clear that it "will not allow any punitive measures impacting the energy sector and nuclear power generation or threatening the EU’s foreign relations."

"Discussions on this topic are underway in Brussels and I issued clear instructions to our ambassador on this matter," he said in a video address posted on his Facebook page (Facebook is banned in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which has been designated as extremist).

The top Hungarian diplomat recalled that the European Union is discussing the 13th package of anti-Russian sanctions and wants to adopt it by the second anniversary of the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine. "I don’t think that it is necessary to make this part of the European Union’s operation futile by means of this demonstrative package of sanctions," he said.

Hungary is still receiving oil and gas from Russia under long-term contracts and continues the construction of the second stage of the Paks NPP according to Rosatom’s design.