Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday his country received an exemption from US sanctions on imports of Russian oil.
Orbán spoke to Hungarian reporters after talks with US President Donald Trump, who hosted him at the White House. Much of the visit focused on Orbán’s request that Trump exempt Hungary from US sanctions on Russian oil purchases.
“We received full exemption from sanctions” for Russian oil and gas delivered to Hungary via the Druzhba and TurkStream pipelines, Orbán said, adding, “We asked the president to lift the sanctions” and that Hungary is “in a significantly different situation than other European countries.”
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Hungary was granted a one-year exemption.
Orbán earlier said he would tell Trump about “the consequences for the Hungarian people and for the Hungarian economy not to get oil and gas from Russia.” He stressed that pipelines are a physical reality for Hungary because the country lacks seaports.
Trump said during the public part of their meeting that he was considering granting a waiver for Hungary, noting the difficulty Orbán faces in obtaining oil and gas from other sources. Trump also urged European Union leaders to show more respect for Orbán, praising his stance on immigration.
Last month, Trump announced plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest; that meeting was later postponed after Russia rejected a ceasefire. Shortly before the Trump-Orbán meeting, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó revealed plans to buy nuclear fuel rods from the United States for two Russian-built nuclear power plants, according to state agency MTI.
Orbán is a longtime Trump ally, and the two share similar views on immigration, but their stances have clashed over Russian oil. Trump has urged European countries to stop buying Russian oil to cut Moscow’s war funding; Hungary has continued to rely on Russian energy since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
International Monetary Fund figures show Hungary depended on Russia for 74% of its gas and 86% of its oil in 2024. The IMF warned that a cutoff of Russian natural gas alone could cause output losses in Hungary exceeding 4% of GDP. Hungary has opposed the European Commission’s plan to phase out EU imports of all Russian gas and liquefied natural gas by the end of 2027, further straining relations with Brussels over ties to Moscow.
Edited by: Zac Crellin and Roshni Majumdar
