Patriarch Kirill is a religious leader. Respecting fundamental principles of religious freedom, the government of Hungary considers it inappropriate for the EU to include his name among those who would be specifically sanctioned.
According to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Hungary's position on the possible EU sanctions against Russian Patriarch Kirill has long been well known, and no one at the EU summit spoke out against Hungary's position.
The prime minister's statement was sent to MTI by his press chief, Bertalan Havasi, who said that Hungary would of course abide by the agreement reached between the EU heads of state and government at the European Council meeting, and that these decisions were binding on everyone.
PM Orbán added that Hungary's position on the possible sanctioning of Patriarch Kirill has long been well known to its EU partners, and has been expressed several times in recent weeks in the EU ambassadors' negotiating forum, COREPER.
At the extraordinary meeting of the European Council on Monday and Tuesday, no one spoke out against the Hungarian position, PM Orbán concluded his statement.