US President Donald Trump is apparently granting Hungary an exemption from sanctions against Russian oil companies and wants to allow the EU state to import energy from Russia for another year. Trump promised this to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban during his visit to Washington, several media outlets such as the TV channel CNN reported, citing White House representatives. The government headquarters did not comment publicly on this, but Orban himself also spoke of a special regulation for his country.
The US government imposed new sanctions on Russian energy companies in October, which could also result in secondary punitive measures against buyers. Hungary, in turn, is heavily dependent on Russian energy supplies and has repeatedly obstructed EU sanctions against Moscow because of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
Viktor Orban points to a lack of alternatives
Immediately after the meeting with Trump in the White House, Orban reported that the Republican had granted his country a special arrangement because there were no short-term alternatives. “With regard to the Turkish Stream (natural gas) pipeline and the Druzhba (oil) pipeline, Hungary will receive a full exemption from sanctions,” Orban was quoted as saying by the state news agency MTI.
Hungary’s dependence on Russian oil and gas is also due to the fact that Orban’s government – unlike other EU countries such as Germany and Bulgaria – has never made serious efforts to free the country from Moscow’s grip. In the EU, the Hungarian obtained an exemption that allows Russian oil imports via pipelines. Hungary has been connected to Russia via such a tube since communist times.
In the public part of the meeting, Trump appeared open to a possible exception and said that Hungary’s concerns were “being examined” because, as a landlocked country, Ukraine’s neighbor does not have access to sea ports. However, this also applies to some other EU states.
EU plan calls for renunciation of Russian imports
Republican and Democratic US senators called on Hungary in a joint resolution on Thursday to reduce its dependence on Russian energy and to adhere to the EU plan to completely avoid Russian imports by the end of 2027.
Hungary gets most of its oil through the Druzhba pipeline, which runs through Ukraine. Although there is a second line via Croatia, Orban argues that this can currently only be used as a supplement. He described security of supply as “important for survival” and warned of consequences for the economy and households if Russian oil were to disappear in the short term.
Donald Trump sees other EU states in particular as having a duty
While Trump criticized other unnamed European states for continuing to buy Russian energy on a large scale, he portrayed Hungary as a special case. The landlocked country has difficult conditions without access to ports through which ships can deliver oil from other regions and is therefore “in a different position.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj is calling for a complete stop to all energy imports into the EU – and expressed confidence on Telegram that he would achieve this goal. Ukraine will not allow the Russians to sell oil to EU states. The relationship between Kiev and Budapest is tense because of Hungary’s energy trade with Moscow. Ukraine has attacked the “Druzhba” pipeline on Russian territory several times.
Orban came to the meeting at the White House with a large delegation of ministers, businesspeople and political allies. Many EU partners accuse his government of weakening the common front against Moscow and of having made little effort to find oil alternatives. For the right-wing conservative Prime Minister, supporting Trump is therefore important. He is also hoping for tailwind for the Hungarian parliamentary elections, which are coming up in a few months.
Trump again brings Budapest into play for meetings with Putin
At the meeting, Trump also commented on the next personal conversation with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin about an end to the Ukraine war, which is still a long time coming. The US President is sticking to the Hungarian capital as a possible meeting place. “If it (the meeting) takes place, I would like to hold it in Budapest,” Trump said in response to a question from reporters. He did not give any specific reason why this city was chosen.
It is completely unclear whether there will be a meeting. In mid-October, Trump spoke of a meeting in Budapest within two weeks. However, in subsequent discussions with Moscow representatives, the Americans probably came to the conclusion that the Russians did not intend to back down from their maximum demands against Ukraine. Trump ultimately postponed the meeting indefinitely. Several days ago, Russia publicly backed away from a quick meeting with the US President.
