Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called on the European Union to pressure Ukraine to re-establish the transit of Russian gas to Europe, and linked the issue to extending sanctions against Moscow.

The European Union will moved forward with a renewal on Russian sanctions after a deal was struck with Hungary, according to multiple reports.

The sanctions target trade, finance, energy, technology, industry, transport and luxury goods and include a ban on seaborne crude oil.

Hungary wants the European Union to persuade Ukraine to resume gas transit from Russia to Europe, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday, signalling a tough debate as the EU seeks to extend its sanctions against Russia over the coming week.

Hungary, one of Russia’s main friends in the EU, had left its EU counterparts fuming over a refusal so far to approve the move.

Sikorski believes that Budapest changed its mind after Trump called Russian dictator Vladimir Putin as an aggressor and threatened Moscow with sanctions if it did not engage in peace talks. It was the new US president's first clear position on Russia's war against Ukraine.

The European Union on Monday renewed its wide-ranging sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine after Hungary stopped holding up the move in return for a declaration on energy security. The bloc’s foreign policy chief,