The United States has granted Hungary a one-year exemption from US sanctions for using Russian oil and gas, a White House official said on Friday after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán pressed for the deferral during a friendly meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington, UNN reports with reference to Reuters.
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Last month, Trump imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft, threatening further sanctions against companies in countries that buy oil from these companies.
Orbán, a long-time ally of Trump, met him at the White House on Friday for their first bilateral meeting since the Republican’s return to power. He explained why his country needs to use Russian oil, while Trump is pressuring Europe to stop doing so.
Orbán said the issue was vital for Hungary, which is a European country, and promised to explain the “consequences for the Hungarian people and the Hungarian economy if they do not receive oil and gas from Russia.”
Trump, seeking to pressure Moscow to end the war with Ukraine, appeared sympathetic to Orbán’s position, the publication writes.
“We’re looking at it because it’s a totally different thing for him to get oil and gas from other regions,” Trump said. “As you know, they don’t have the advantage of being landlocked. It’s a big country, a great country, but they don’t have a sea. They don’t have ports.”
“But many European countries buy oil and gas from Russia, and have been doing so for many years,” Trump added. “And I asked, ‘What does that even mean?'”
A White House official noted that, in addition to the sanctions waiver, Hungary has committed to purchasing liquefied natural gas from the United States under contracts worth approximately $600 million.
Hungary has remained dependent on Russian energy since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, drawing criticism from a number of European Union and NATO countries.
International Monetary Fund data shows that in 2024, Hungary was 74% dependent on Russia for gas and 86% for oil, warning that a cessation of Russian natural gas supplies across the EU could lead to losses in Hungary exceeding 4% of GDP.
To be continued…