Orbán: Hungary’s stance on sanctioning Patriarch Kirill has been well known

According to Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s opinion about the EU’s sanctioning of Russian Patriarch Kirill is well known to everyone, and nobody spoke out against it at the EU-summit earlier in the week – says the Prime Minister in his statement sent to the Hungarian State News Agency (MTI) by Bertalan Havasi, his press secretary.

Orbán’s statement is a reaction to the press reports alleging that Hungary will still veto the EU’s sanction package after all, but instead of the oil embargo (about which an agreement has been reached, and a provision was added to the text (másik cikk linkje), it will be done on grounds of religious freedom.

Orbán added that Hungary will of course abide by the agreement reached between the EU heads of state at the EC summit, as these decisions are binding on everyone.

Hungary's position on the possible sanctioning of Patriarch Kirill has long been well known to the country’s EU partners, and has been expressed several times in recent weeks at the EU ambassadors' negotiating forum, COREPER, MTI reports based on the statement. Orbán – who brought up this subject in a Kossuth radio interview in early May as well – concluded his statement by saying that no one spoke out against the Hungarian position at the European Council's meeting on Monday and Tuesday.