Budapest - (AFP) - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday that the European Union had "shot itself in the chest" by imposing sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, calling on EU leaders to adjust their policy in this regard.

"At first I thought we had just put a bullet in our foot, but the European economy has put a bullet in the chest and suffocated," Orban told national radio.

He added, "There are countries involved in the policy of sanctions, but Brussels must admit that they were wrong, that (sanctions) did not achieve their goals, and even on the contrary, they had side effects."

Orban was a fierce opponent of the embargo on the bulk of Russian oil, which was imposed by the European Union in early June as part of the sixth package of its sanctions against Russia. The union made a concession to Orban by excluding the oil that arrives through a line supplied by Hungary.

He said the Hungarian Prime Minister that "Brussels believed that the policy of sanctions will harm the Russians, but it causes more damage to us."

Hungary, which imports 65% of its oil and 80% of its gas, declared on Wednesday a "state of emergency" to deal with the energy crisis.

In particular, the measures stipulate that individuals who consume more gas and electricity than the average must pay the price of the excess quantity at the market price and not at the rate adopted in the country.

Orban continued in his radio interview, "We are forced to make (individuals) pay a higher price, otherwise the system is no longer viable."

For its part, Russia has sharply reduced gas deliveries at a time when Russian giant Gazprom Group confirmed on Wednesday that it is unable to guarantee the proper functioning of the now-stopped Nord Stream gas pipeline that supplies Europe with gas, saying it is unable to confirm whether it will restore a German turbine running. Fix it in Canada.