Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has criticised Brussels over the planned written vote to approve a European Commission proposal, based on Article 122 of the EU Treaty, to ban the return to Russia of its assets frozen in the EU.

Hungary, the EU’s most pro-Russian state, opposes any further aid to Kyiv and has routinely threatened to veto the sanctions rollover. EU officials fear Orbán would follow through on the threat if Donald Trump’s administration decided to unilaterally drop US sanctions on Russia.

The European Commission is unlawfully abolishing the requirement of unanimity in the matter of the frozen Russian assets, Prime Minister Viktor Orban warns.

The trip to Moscow is the second since last year for Orbán, who is widely considered Putin’s closest partner among all EU leaders. Hungary is one of only a few EU countries to continue importing large quantities of Russian fossil fuels, and Orbán has strongly opposed efforts by the bloc to wean its 27 member nations off Russian energy supplies.

Russia's leader praised what he called Orban's "balanced position on the situation in Ukraine".

The comments come after the EU agreed to indefinitely freeze Russian sovereign assets – removing a crucial bargaining chip for the pro-Moscow strongman

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow Friday to shore up Hungary’s energy supplies and discuss efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Dec 11 (Reuters) - Polish Justice Minister Waldemar Zurek accused Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Thursday of being closer to Russia than Europe, renewing an argument between the two European Union members that Budapest has called an unjustified provocation.

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is visiting Moscow for energy talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a rare step from a European leader while Russia’s war grinds on in Ukraine. The trip to Moscow is the second ...