US grants Hungary one-year exception from sanctions over Russian oil and gas | Trump administration

The United States has granted Hungary a one-year exemption from U.S. sanctions over its use of Russian oil and gas, a White House official said Friday, after Viktor Orbán pressed him to delay his case during a friendly meeting with Donald Trump in Washington.

Trump imposed last month Ukraine-related sanctions Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft threaten to impose more sanctions on organizations in countries that buy oil from these companies.

The Hungarian prime minister, a longtime Trump ally, met with the US president at the White House on Friday for their first bilateral meeting since Republicans took power and explained why his country should use Russian oil at a time when Trump is pressuring Europe to stop doing so.

Orbán stated that the issue is of vital importance for Hungary, a European country, and promised to reveal “the consequences of not buying oil and natural gas from Russia for the Hungarian people and the Hungarian economy.”

Trump aims to pressure Moscow to end deal war with UkraineHe appeared to sympathize with Orbán’s position.

“We’re looking at that because it’s very different for him to get oil and gas from other regions,” Trump said. “As you know, they… they don’t have the advantage of having a sea. It’s a great country, a great country, but they don’t have seas. They don’t have ports.”

“But many European countries have been buying oil and gas from Russia for years,” Trump added. “So I said: ‘What does all this mean?’”

In addition to sanctions waivers, Hungary has committed to purchasing liquefied natural gas from the United States in contracts worth approximately $600 million, the White House official said.

Hungary’s continued dependence on Russian energy since the beginning of the 2022 conflict in Ukraine has drawn criticism from many European Union and NATO allies.

International Monetary Fund figures show Hungary will rely on Russia for 74% of its gas and 86% of its oil in 2024; This warns that cutting off Russian gas alone across the EU could lead to production losses exceeding 4% of GDP in Hungary.

The two also discussed Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Trump said he would meet last month Vladimir Putin The meeting held in the Hungarian capital was postponed after Russia rejected the ceasefire.

Trump said Friday that Russia does not want to stop the war. “The main disagreement is that they don’t want to stop yet. And I think they will,” he said.

The president asked Orbán if he thought Ukraine could win the war. Orban replied: “A miracle could happen.”

Greater economic cooperation between the United States and Hungary was also on the agenda. Orbán predicted a “golden age” between the two countries and made a point of criticizing the Joe Biden administration; It was a sure-fire way to curry favor with Trump, who often continues to use Biden as a foil.

The Hungarian leader, who faces an election in 2026, has developed a strong personal relationship with Trump over the years, including their shared strict immigration policies. Trump backed Orbán in the election on Friday.

“He made no mistakes on immigration. I mean, everybody respects him, some people love him… I love and respect him, I’m a twin,” Trump said. “This is how Hungary is governed. They are governed correctly and that is why they will be very successful in the upcoming elections.”

The EU supreme court last year ruled that Hungary should pay a fine of 200 million euros ($216 million) for not making changes to its policy of treating immigrants and asylum seekers at its border. He also has to pay a daily fine of 1 million Euros until he fully implements the measures.

Orbán touched on the fine in his meeting with Trump but said Hungary would resolve intra-EU disputes on its own.

A concrete sign of Hungary’s improving ties with the United States under the Trump administration came last month when the United States fully restored Hungary’s status in its visa waiver program.

Hungary pushed back The European Commission’s opposition to the EU’s plans to phase out all Russian gas and LNG imports by the end of 2027 has deepened the dispute with Brussels over relations with Moscow.

Ratings agency S&P said Hungary has one of the most energy-intensive economies in Europe and its local refineries were built to process Russian Urals crude.

While S&P said gas supplies from Azerbaijan and Qatar could replace Russian supplies, it warned that Hungary’s financial and external accounts remained vulnerable to an energy shock.