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 wants the European Union to intervene in a gas dispute it has with Ukraine, a potential sign of friction in the bloc’s upcoming discussions over renewing sanctions against Russia.

Türkiye is making diplomatic efforts to resume energy talks with the EU. The country is considering the prospect of becoming a major supplier of natural gas after previous talks were disrupted by tensions with Cyprus,

As well as transiting Azerbaijani gas and exporting its own domestic reserves, Turkey imports fuel from Russia via the TurkStream pipeline under the Black Sea. After the Kremlin's agreement with Ukraine ended on Jan. 1, the underwater link is the only remaining route for Moscow to ship supplies to Europe.

Hungary's representatives have not yet agreed to a decision on the extension of EU sanctions against Russia. The issue will be considered at an EU Council meeting at foreign minister level on Monday,

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.

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,