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.

Orban has accused both Kyiv and Brussels of exacerbating Hungary's economic challenges. He claims EU sanctions on Russia have cost Hungary €19 billion ($19.9 billion) over the past three years, a figure exceeding the country’s annual tax revenues.

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.

The fate of the European Union’s sanctions against Russia were thrown into limbo after a top Hungarian official called for a “debate” and signaled their renewal by the end of the month shouldn’t be automatic.

It’s hard to find a more hypocritical political class in the wide world than that of the Brussels bureaucrats. They demand that we sever ourselves from Russian gas, meanwhile, more Russian LNG is coming to Western Europe than ever before,