Hungary wants to remove eight individuals from the European Union's Russia sanctions list and receive fresh guarantees on Ukraine gas transit talks before agreeing to renew the restrictions, EU diplomats said.

Hungary is threatening to withhold its approval for extending E.U. sanctions against Russia if the union doesn’t lift sanctions against eight Russian nationals. European diplomats relayed the demands to Reuters on Tuesday without identifying the Russians in question.

Hungary seeks to remove eight individuals from the EU's Russia sanctions list and demands new guarantees on Ukraine gas transit discussions before consenting to sanctions renewal. Despite the EU's need for unanimous agreement to extend sanctions,