“According to our estimations, the lost profit amounted to $6.5 billion within three years – that is about export. Given that the annual volume of Hungarian export is about $90 billion, that is a significant loss,” Szijjarto said.
He pointed out that from Hungarian point of view the sanctions were ineffective and harmful both for Russian and European economies.
He expressed his hope that the anti-Russian sanctions would be eased during the coming EU summit in March adding that the EU position would depend on shifts in the US-Russian dialogue.
“Obviously, business is against the policy of sanctions,” Szijjarto said.
The trade volume between Russia and the European Union reduced significantly since 2014 amid the crisis in Ukraine. Brussels imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia that reciprocated with curbs on food imports. Both sides renewed the sanctions in 2015 and 2016.
