ＥＵ、追加制裁からロシア総主教除外　ハンガリーの反対受け

【ブリュッセルＡＦＰ＝時事】欧州連合（ＥＵ）は２日、ウクライナに侵攻したロシアに科す追加制裁について、ハンガリーの反対を受け、ロシア正教会の最高指導者キリル総主教を対象から外すことで合意した。外交筋が明らかにした。（写真はロシア正教会の最高指導者キリル総主教）
　ＥＵの追加制裁をめぐっては先月３０日、パイプライン経由で輸送されるロシア産原油を禁輸対象から除外するよう求めたハンガリーのオルバン・ビクトル首相の要求を各国首脳が受け入れたことで、合意にこぎつけたとみられていた。だがオルバン氏がさらに、キリル総主教も制裁対象から外すよう主張したことで、各国は再びハンガリーの要求をのまざるを得なくなった。
　キリル総主教はプーチン大統領を強く支持し、ウクライナ侵攻に賛同している。だがＥＵ各国の首脳の中でロシアと最も近い関係にあるオルバン氏は、総主教を制裁対象に加えることは「信教の自由」に反するとして反対していた。
　ある外交官によると、ＥＵ内ではハンガリーに対する「一定の不満と失望」があるものの、追加制裁をめぐる交渉で数週間にわたり押し問答が続いていたことから、全体的な合意の確保がより重要だとして、妥協を受け入れたという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/06/03-13:28）

EU ambassadors on Thursday dropped the leader of Russia's Orthodox church from a proposed blacklist, allowing them to agree a new round of sanctions after opposition from Hungary, diplomats said.
Another strong package of sanctions was agreed today against Putin and the Kremlin, tweeted EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
This will reduce Russia's capacity to finance its war.
Budapest had stalled final approval of the fresh wave of sanctions over the war in Ukraine, including a ban on most Russian oil imports, by demanding that Patriarch Kirill be taken off the list.
EU leaders on Monday thought they had clinched agreement on the new measures after giving in to Hungarian premier Viktor Orban's demand to exempt Russian oil arriving via pipeline.
But the other 26 nations had to buckle again to wrap up the package in the face of Orban's obstinacy after he insisted the Russian church leader's name also be removed.
An EU diplomat said there was some frustration and disappointment with Hungary, but an acceptance that securing the broader measures after weeks of haggling was more important.
- 'Freedom of religion' -
Kirill, 75, is a fervent supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has backed his military campaign in Ukraine.
Orban, the closest EU leader to the Kremlin, had said he opposed adding Kirill to the list as it would contravene freedom of religion.
EU officials say the new sanctions will see some 90 percent of Russian oil exports to the EU halted by the end of the year as the bloc tries to halt funds flowing to Moscow's war machine.
A diplomat said other EU nations had refused to give in to a further demand from Orban to keep being able to sell on the Russian oil he will still receive.
The move is seen as the most powerful sanctions taken to date against Moscow after five previous waves of punishment that have rocked the Russian economy.
The package also includes disconnecting Russia's largest bank Sberbank from the global SWIFT payment system and a ban on three more Russian state media outlets.
Other prominent additions to the asset freeze and visa ban blacklist include Putin's alleged girlfriend Alina Kabaeva and military personnel suspected of war crimes in Ukraine.
The sanctions should be formally adopted later this week when they are published in the EU's official journal.