A White House has confirmed that US President Donald Trump has given Hungary one year off sanctions imposed for continuing to import Russian energy resources, writes the BBC.
Trump previously said that an exception could be made in the case of his ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban, despite the ongoing full-scale war in Ukraine, has continued to maintain friendly relations with the Kremlin. Trump justified the exemptions by saying that it is difficult for Hungary to obtain gas and oil through other means. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó wrote on the X after the meeting between Trump and Orban that the US had given Budapest a complete and unlimited exemption from sanctions against Russian oil and gas. However, it later became clear that the exemption would be valid for one year.
The concessions for Orban come after the United States in October added Russia’s largest oil refiners Lukoil and Rosneft to its sanctions list.
Trump’s decision marks a major victory for Orban, who has previously said the sanctions would cripple his country’s economy. During the public part of the meeting, Trump empathized with Hungary’s position as a landlocked country dependent on Russian energy resources, but avoided giving specific guarantees. It later emerged that the one-year period without sanctions had been granted, contradicting Trump’s determination just two weeks ago to punish anyone who cooperates with Russia.
In exchange for the sanctions relief,
Hungary has agreed to buy several hundred million dollars worth of American natural gas.
The deal will backfire in European countries whose leaders are hostile to Orban’s friendship with the Russians.
Orbán has long been a Trump ally, and their rhetoric on migration and social issues is very similar. This is likely what has allowed Orbán to gain the favor of the US president and special treatment at a time when Hungary is approaching parliamentary elections, which promise to be difficult for the current prime minister.
The US president has stated that Hungary’s situation is determined by its geographical location and lack of access to the sea, but he is very dissatisfied that other European countries with access to sea waterways continue to buy Russian energy resources. Meanwhile, Orbán, who regularly hinders the European Union’s efforts to put pressure on Moscow and puts obstacles to aid to Ukraine, has defended energy deals with Russia, saying that the pipelines are neither political nor ideological, but a physical reality for a country without seaports.
The two leaders also discussed the war in Ukraine on the 7th of November, including possible talks with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and the US president has again expressed hope that the war could be ended soon, as Orbán knows Putin well. Orbán, in turn, stated that only Hungary and the US truly want peace in Ukraine, and that other governments continue to prefer war because many think that Ukraine can win on the front, which is a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation.
Read also: Russian oil or Trump’s favor – Orbán’s difficult choice