Hungarian chief diplomat calls Western sanctions 'complete failure'

BUDAPEST -- Sanctions on Russia are causing damage to Europe and it is a "complete failure," said Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto here on Sunday.

As a result of the European Union's (EU) sanctions imposed so far due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, European inflation is skyrocketing, utility costs, natural gas prices, and food prices have risen, and the continent's economy has entered recession, Szijjarto told public radio channel MR1.

"This was a complete failure, as it is now clear that these sanctions have hurt Europe much more than Russia itself and are causing enormous damage to the EU's economy," he said.

Szijjarto labeled a potential eighth sanction package as a "wrong direction" but noted that there are no final decisions on the matter yet, and not even a formal proposal has been prepared so far.

"We will not give our consent to any decision that would harm the Hungarian national interest. The security of our energy supply remains a red line, for us any sanctions that would endanger our energy supply are unacceptable," he said.

Szijjarto also voiced his opinion about the United States gaining from the EU's sanctions policy. "It is beyond dispute that the American economy is winning with these sanctions, while the EU's economy is headed for recession," said the minister.

"I consider dialogue and negotiation to be a value, it seems that not everyone agrees on that," Szijjarto said.

"If we close the communication channels, the diplomatic channels, we will permanently give up and lose the hope that this conflict will ever end," he added.