Hungarian Prime Minister said he rejected the European Union’s latest proposal to ban Russian oil, saying it was tantamount to a “nuclear bomb” being dropped on his country’s economy.

Viktor Orban said in a state radio interview he wants a 5-year exemption - instead of the 1-year delay currently under consideration - for Hungary to comply with an EU ban on Russian oil.

He also said weaning Hungary off of Russian crude requires billions of dollars in investments and access to Hungary’s share of the EU’s pandemic funds to pay for it.

The EU’s executive has blocked Hungary’s access to its USD 7.6 billion share of pandemic funds over concerns about graft.