Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is threatening to veto an extension of EU sanctions against Russia that are due to be renewed every six months, Politico reported Wednesday, citing three unnamed diplomats familiar with the matter.

One of the reasons is that Hungary wants to be removed from the four-person list.

According to the report, Hungary also opposes a proposal supported by all other member states to extend the period from six to 12 months, which would give Budapest less room to torpedo sanctions and derail EU decisions.

So far, EU ambassadors have not reached a compromise with Hungary, despite the fact that the EU is ready to grant a request to remove four people from sanctions lists, two diplomats said.

Officials are due to discuss a “preliminary compromise” on Wednesday that would see a nine-month renewal period instead of the current six months, diplomats said.

The EU has imposed sanctions against more than 1,400 people in connection with Russia’s war in Ukraine, including oligarchs, members of the Russian parliament, military and security forces, as well as Russian administrators in Ukrainian-occupied territories. If Hungary retains its veto, all of these people will have to be removed from the list, the report said.

European Union member states failed to reach an agreement on Wednesday on a new set of sanctions against Russia to be adopted before the anniversary of the Russian invasion this Friday, Reuters reported, citing four diplomatic sources in Brussels.

“There are several outstanding topics, including sanctions and obligations to report on Russian assets in Europe,” one of the sources told Reuters, with all the diplomats speaking on condition of anonymity because of the confidential nature of the discussions.

German news agency sources say the bloc’s member states will resume talks on a new package of sanctions against Moscow on Thursday afternoon. Although the European Commission has not officially announced what they cover, it has previously said that the sanctions will cover trade restrictions worth 10 billion euros.

Earlier in February, Politico also released sources on measures proposed by executive director Ursula von der Leyen to EU diplomats. According to Politico, the new package of sanctions prepared by the European executive against Russia will include:

• new financial sanctions against 4 Russian banks, including the largest private bank in Russia, Alfa Bank, a financial institution founded by oligarch Mykhailo Fridman;

• prohibition of Russian citizens to hold positions on the boards of directors of critical infrastructure companies in the community space, for example, in the field of electricity or natural gas suppliers;

• new sanctions against 130 individuals and legal entities are proposed by Poland, the Baltic states, Germany, France and other EU countries. Among the targets of the new sanctions will be Russian military leaders, officials appointed by Moscow in occupied Ukrainian territories, journalists working for Russian state media, as well as companies and individuals from other countries with ties to Russia’s military operations or Wagner’s mercenary group. .

Follow the latest events of the 364th day of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HOTNEWS.RO.