Long reputed to be Russia-friendly, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has often railed against the continuation of the EU sanctions, claiming that they impose an intolerable burden on the Hungarian economy and provide no solution for the carnage in Ukraine.

Russia would like to see a resumption in the transit of gas via Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Tuesday, after the European Commission issued a statement saying it planned to continue talks with Kyiv on natural gas supplies to Europe.

Serbia, Slovakia and Poland's call for a permanent end to Russian gas flows pose issues for the Russian leader.

Before relenting, Budapest had threatened to allow billions of dollars to flow back to the Kremlin in a row over energy imports.

The European Union renewed on Monday 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.

President Vladimir Putin has authorised Armenian investment fund Balchug Capital's purchase of Goldman Sachs' unit in Russia, a government decree published on Friday showed, potentially paving the way for the U.

The Orbán government and the “postliberal” philosophies promoted by leading Hungarian conservatives have considerable influence on the American right.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said she expected the bloc to renew its sanctions on Russia on Monday after Hungary signalled it would stop holding up the move in return for assurances about energy security.

Aleksandr Lukashenko has awarded himself a seventh term as president of Belarus, with the West calling the so-called vote a sham and introducing additional sanctions. Belarusian political observer Artsiom Shraibman told the Kyiv Independent that Lukashenko faces uncertain future after the vote.

The Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orban, has once again threatened to veto the European Union's sanctions against Russia. This will happen if Ukraine does not restore the transit of Russian gas, Bloomberg reports.

Earlier, Brussels assured Budapest of providing energy security guarantees, including the commitment to seek Ukraine’s resumption of transit of Russian gas, to prevent the disruption of transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline,