Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday that he will try to convince US President Donald Trump to grant Hungary exemptions from new US sanctions targeting Russian oil during a visit to Washington next week. TASR informs about it based on the AP report.
- Hungarian Prime Minister Orbán will visit Washington and meet with President Trump.
- Hungary requests exemption from US sanctions on Russian oil.
- The Trump administration has imposed sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil.
- Orbán emphasizes Hungary’s dependence on Russian oil supplies.
The Trump administration last week imposed sanctions on Russia’s main state oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. This could expose their foreign buyers, including those in India, China and Central Europe, to secondary sanctions.
While most of the member states of the European Union (EU) after the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 significantly reduced or stopped the import of Russian fossil fuels, Hungary and Slovakia continue to take them through the pipeline. Hungary has even increased the share of Russian oil in its energy mix.
Orbán, a Trump ally who is expected to visit Washington next week and meet with President Trump for the first time since he returned to office in January, has long argued that domestic Hungary has no viable alternatives to Russian oil and that replacing these supplies would trigger a collapse of the economy. Critics dispute this claim.
On Friday, Orbán told the state radio that it is necessary to force the Americans to “they understood this special situation if we want exemptions from US sanctions affecting Russia”. The Hungarian leader, widely regarded as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest partner in the EU, maintains warm relations with the Kremlin despite the war. At the same time, he took a bellicose stance towards Ukraine, portraying the neighboring country as the main threat to Hungary’s security and economy.
Orbán said on Friday that both the US administration and Moscow are trying to end the war, with Ukraine and the EU being the main obstacles to peace. However, a planned meeting between Trump and Putin in Budapest was recently canceled after Russian officials made it clear that they opposed an immediate ceasefire in the conflict.
Orbán also noted that he will be accompanied on his trip to Washington by a “large delegation” of ministers, economic officials and security advisers. Their goal will be a “complete review” of US-Hungarian relations. Budapest hopes to finalize a package of economic cooperation with the US, including new US investments in Hungary. However, he emphasized that any agreement depends on securing Hungary’s permanent access to Russian energy.
