Orbán to press Trump for Hungary's exemption from new US sanctions on Russian oil

By&nbspAP pinch Doloresz Katanich

Published on 31/10/2025 - 12:22 GMT+1

Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán said he would effort to seduce US President Donald Trump to assistance Hungary an exemption from Washington’s caller sanctions connected Russian lipid erstwhile they meet adjacent week.

The Trump management unveiled sanctions past week against Russia’s awesome state-affiliated lipid firms Rosneft and Lukoil, a move that could expose their overseas buyers — including those successful India, China and Central Europe — to secondary sanctions.

While astir European Union personnel states sharply reduced aliases halted imports of Russian fossil fuels pursuing Moscow’s full-scale penetration of Ukraine connected 24 February 2022, Hungary and Slovakia person maintained pipeline deliveries.

Hungary has moreover precocious accrued nan stock of Russian lipid successful its power mix.

The Atlantic Council, a US think-tank, estimates that Hungary now sources 86% of its crude lipid from Russia, up from 61% earlier nan penetration of Ukraine, amid EU plans for a Russian-energy prohibition by 2028.

According to a study by CREA and nan Centre for nan Study of Democracy, Hungary and Slovakia’s Russian lipid imports person generated €5.4 cardinal successful taxation gross for nan Kremlin since nan penetration of Ukraine.

Orbán, a Trump state who is expected to sojourn Washington adjacent week for his first bilateral gathering pinch nan president since retaking agency successful January, has agelong based on that landlocked Hungary has nary viable alternatives to Russian crude and that replacing those supplies would trigger economical collapse. Critics conflict this claim.

“We person to make nan Americans understand this different business if we want exemptions from nan American sanctions that are hitting Russia,” Orbán said successful comments to authorities power connected Friday.

The Hungarian leader, wide regarded arsenic Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest partner successful nan EU, has maintained lukewarm relations pinch nan Kremlin contempt nan warfare and taken a combative stance towards Ukraine, portraying nan neighbouring state arsenic a awesome threat to Hungary’s information and economy.

Orbán said connected Friday that some nan US management and Moscow were seeking an extremity to nan war, but that Ukraine and nan EU were nan superior impediments to peace. However, a planned gathering betwixt Trump and Putin successful Budapest was precocious cancelled aft Russian officials made clear they opposed an contiguous ceasefire.

Orbán said he would beryllium accompanied to Washington by a “large delegation” of ministers, economical officials and information advisers aimed astatine a “complete review” of US-Hungarian relations. He added that Budapest hopes to finalise an economical practice package pinch nan US, including caller American finance successful Hungary.

However, he stressed that immoderate woody would dangle connected securing Hungary’s continued entree to Russian energy.