Austria expects the European Union to agree on a sixth sanctions package on Russia in the coming days, Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said on Monday, quoted by Reuters.
"I am confident that we will manage to get the sixth sanctions package done in the next days," Schallenberg told reporters as he arrived for a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels.
"It is clear that there still is a certain need for discussion but I believe we should aim to have these discussions where they belong, at the council, in order not give an image of disaccord in public. Russia is watching us," he added.
The sixth package of sanctions against russia was presented on May 4, but voting for it did not happen yet. An agreement cannot be reached due to Hungary's position due to the oil embargo, which is proposed to be introduced gradually so that EU countries will stop buying crude and refined russian oil by the end of the year. Slovakia and Hungary, as the most dependent, are proposed to impose an embargo in 2024.
However, Hungary does not agree to the proposed conditions and insists that oil imports from russia to it continue through pipelines and stop only by ships. Prime Minister Victor Orban also believes that all oil issues should be resolved at the summit of EU leaders, and it is scheduled only for the end of May.
Some EU countries are proposing to adopt an embargo-free package in order not to drag on with sanctions. However, others believe that this will show the weakness of the European Union.