Long reputed to be Russia-friendly, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has often railed against the continuation of the EU sanctions, claiming that they impose an intolerable burden on the Hungarian economy and provide no solution for the carnage in Ukraine.

The ongoing conflict has highlighted the importance of diversifying gas supplies to build resilience against geopolitical risks

Václav Bartuška, the Czech Foreign Ministry's Special Envoy for Energy Security, explained this statement. "For the Czech Republic and Europe in general, this does not matter fundamentally," he said.