Russian orthodox leader removed from EU sanctions list after Hungary pressure

Brussels, Jun 2 (EFE).- Hungary’s government on Thursday succeeded in removing the head of Russian’s Orthodox church patriarch Kirill from the latest round of European Union sanctions against Moscow, which has now been given the green light by representatives of member states, diplomatic sources told Efe.

It was the second time Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orban managed to alter the details of the sixth round of EU sanctions after it successfully pushed for a pipeline of Russian oil flowing into the central European country to be exempted from a European import ban.

The governments of EU member states are now poised to ratify the embargoes by Friday.

The sanctions, outlined earlier this week by the EU, will immediately cut Russian oil imports by 75%, rising to 90% by the end of the year.

However, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, all heavily reliant on Russian energy, will continue to import oil via the Druzhba pipeline.

As well as a ban on crude oil, the sixth round of sanctions drawn up in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine includes removing Sberbank, Russia’s largest lender, from the international banking system Swift.

It also applied sanctions to individuals such as colonel Azatbek Omurbekov, the so-called Butcher of Bucha, whose troops allegedly committed war crimes in the town outside Kyiv.EFE

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