Budapest Consults Hungarians on Anti-Russian Sanctions

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has previously criticized the EU’s sanctions against Russia on several occasions, arguing that the measures are destroying Hungary’s economy.

Hungarian authorities have moved to consult the country’s population whether they agree with Budapest’s stance on the EU sanctions against Russia.

According to AFP, a national consultation survey on the subject has been published by the Hungarian government via social media on Friday.

"We believe that the sanctions are destroying us," said a statement accompanying the survey.

Earlier, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he regards the European Commission’s approach to the anti-Russian sanctions as “catastrophic”.

“Sanctions in this form are killing us, they will destroy the German economy, they are destroying the Hungarian economy, this is not good,” he said.

Following the launch of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, the United States and the EU imposed several rounds of economic sanctions against Moscow, including sanctions against the country’s oil and gas sectors.

While these sanctions failed to cripple Russia’s economy, they backfired against the countries that imposed them, resulting in a steep increase in fuel prices and growing inflation.

Orban has repeatedly criticized the sanctions, arguing that they hurt Europe more than Russia, with Budapest managing to secure an exemption from EU sanctions on Russian pipeline-supplied crude oil imports.