In Hungary, the participants of the consultation opposed anti-Russian sanctions

BUDAPEST, January 14 – RIA Novosti. At a national consultation in Hungary, 97% of participating citizens spoke out against EU anti-Russian sanctions, said Alexandra Szentkyraji, spokeswoman for the Hungarian government.

“The government has summed up the results of the national consultation. These results are unequivocal: 97% of Hungarians reject sanctions that cause serious harm. Sanctions that did not stop (crisis in Ukraine – ed.) … but caused and continue to cause unprecedented economic difficulties in Europe,” – Szentkirayi said in a video message posted on the Hungarian government’s social media account.

“The result of the consultations will be sent to the Hungarian officials, and we will insist that Brussels hear it too. This is necessary because instead of revising the sanctions policy, they want to introduce new sanctions … The message of the consultation is clear: it is necessary to revise the sanctions policy of Brussels. We need not leading to a dead end sanctions, and peace talks,” – said the representative of the government.

Sentkirayi also expressed her gratitude to the nearly 1.4 million citizens who took part in the consultation.

The national consultation in Hungary lasted from October 14 to December 15, citizens were asked to express their attitude towards sanctions against energy carriers from the Russian Federation and sanctions that caused a decrease in the number of Russian tourists and an increase in food prices. Unlike referendums, national consultations do not have a turnout threshold.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in late September that the country was the first in Europe to launch a national consultation to find out the opinion of citizens on EU sanctions against Russia. He called on all citizens of the country to express their opinion during the national consultation and thus “put an end” to the increase in energy prices caused by the sanctions “imposed by Brussels on the EU countries.” According to him, prices in Europe would fall by half in a few days if the EU changed the sanctions policy.

The West stepped up sanctions pressure on Russia over Ukraine, which led to higher prices for electricity, fuel and food in Europe and the United States. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously stated that the policy of containment and weakening of Russia is a long-term strategy of the West, and sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the entire global economy. According to him, the main goal of the West is to worsen the lives of millions of people. The Russian Federation has repeatedly stated that Russia will solve all the problems that the West creates for it.