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 pleaded for a reprieve during a friendly meeting with Donald Trump in Washington.

Last month, Trump imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft, threatening additional sanctions against entities in the countries that buy oil from those companies.

The Hungarian prime minister, a longtime Trump ally, met with the U.S. president at the White House on Friday for their first bilateral meeting since the Republican returned to power and explained why his country needed to use Russian oil at a time when Trump was pressuring Europe to stop doing so.

Orbán said the issue was vital for Hungary, which is a European country, and pledged to expose “the consequences for the Hungarian people and for the Hungarian economy of not getting oil and gas from Russia.”

Trump, who wants to pressure Moscow to end the war with Ukraine, appears to sympathize with Orbán’s position.

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

“But many European countries have been buying oil and gas from Russia, and have been for years,” Trump added. “And I said, ‘What is this about?'”

The White House official noted that in addition to the sanctions waiver, Hungary had committed to purchasing U.S. liquefied natural gas with contracts valued at some $600 million.

Hungary has maintained its dependence on Russian energy since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, drawing criticism from several European Union and NATO allies.

Figures from the International Monetary Fund show that Hungary was dependent on Russia for 74% of its gas and 86% of its oil in 2024, warning that an EU-wide cut in Russian natural gas supplies alone could lead to production losses in Hungary exceeding 4% of GDP.

The two men also discussed the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Trump announced last month that he would meet Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital, but the meeting was suspended after Russia rejected a cease-fire.

Trump said Friday that Russia simply does not want to stop the fighting. “The main dispute 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. A “miracle can happen,” Orban replied.

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

The Hungarian leader, who faces an election in 2026, has cultivated a strong personal relationship with Trump over the years, particularly over their shared hardline immigration policy. On Friday, Trump threw his support behind Orbán for the elections.

“He didn’t make a mistake on immigration. So he’s respected by everyone, he’s liked by some… I love him and I respect him, I’m a double,” Trump said. “And that’s how Hungary is run. It’s run correctly, and that’s why he’s going to be very successful in his next election.”

The EU’s highest court ruled last year that Hungary must pay a fine of 200 million euros ($216 million) for failing to implement changes to its policy for treating immigrants and asylum seekers at its border. She must also pay a daily fine of one million euros until she fully implements the measures.

Orbán referred to the fine during his meeting with Trump, but said Hungary would handle its intra-EU disputes on its own.

A tangible sign of improving relations between Hungary and 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 has opposed European Commission plans to phase out European imports of Russian gas and LNG by the end of 2027, widening the gap with Brussels over relations with Moscow.

Ratings agency S&P noted that Hungary has one of the most energy-intensive economies in Europe and its domestic refineries are built to process crude oil from Russia’s Urals.

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