Hungary is now blocking EU sanctions on those deemed responsible for the jailing of Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza a day after saying it would not support the 11th EU sanctions package against Russia over a bank dispute with Ukraine, EUobserver reported.
Diplomats said that a list of Russian officials to blacklist for sentencing Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison in April was to be finalized by EU foreign ministers in Brussels on May 22, EUobserver reported.
Hungarian officials, however, have now come up with a last-minute veto over at least one of the individuals on the EU list.
Earlier on May 18, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that his country wouldn't support the sanctions package and the 500 million euro military support tranche for Ukraine unless Kyiv removed Hungary’s OTP Bank from its list of “international sponsor of war."
The 11th round of EU sanctions against Russia are focused on cracking down on sanctions' evasion and adding more advanced technologies and aircraft parts to the EU transit bans already in place.
