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Hungary removes Patriarch Kirill from EU sanctions against Russia

Patriarch Kirill. / EP

The highest position of the Orthodox Church, close to Putin, disappears from the sixth package of penalties for the war in Ukraine

Hungary scored this Thursday a new victory in the negotiation with the rest of the Member States of the European Union (EU). In a meeting at the level of ambassadors, the country pressed to leave Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, out of the sixth package of sanctions in exchange for unblocking Moscow’s oil veto, a decision that needs the unanimity of the Twenty-seven .

The sixth round of punishments against Russia had been blocked by Budapest since the beginning of May. After reaching an agreement of the Twenty-seven this week at the European summit, this Thursday the country threatened to stop its formal approval if Europe included the Russian religious leader in its ‘black list’. Finally, the EU gave in and will not freeze the assets of the highest representative of the Orthodox Church. Nor will it prevent you from entering community territory.

The patriarch is a figure close to Russian President Vladimir Putin and is known in some circles as the “ecclesiastical oligarch”, as he has a fortune of between 4,000 and 8,000 million dollars. In addition, he has been the subject of controversy for refusing to expressly condemn Russia against Ukraine and, to this day, maintains that Russia “has never attacked anyone in its history” and that it limits itself to “protecting its borders.”

The oil exception

In practice, Europe has once again given in to the demands of the Viktor Orbán government, which in recent times has maintained a defiant attitude against Brussels. He blocked the adoption of Next Generation funds during the pandemic and has only accepted the embargo on Russian oil by sea.

This measure affects 66% of crude oil imports to the EU and leaves out the pipelines with which Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic are supplied. This exception, although “temporary”, will allow these countries to build the necessary infrastructure to stop depending on Russia.

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