WASHINGTON, Nov 8: U.S. President Donald Trump said he may allow Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to continue buying Russian oil, offering a potential exemption from sanctions designed to pressure Moscow over the war in Ukraine, the BBC reported.
Speaking at the White House on Friday during Orban’s visit, Trump said an exception could be granted because Hungary struggles to access oil and gas from alternative sources, the BBC said. His comments came weeks after Washington effectively blacklisted two major Russian oil firms, warning of penalties for countries purchasing from them, the BBC reported.
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Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto later wrote on X that the U.S. had granted Budapest a “full and unlimited exemption” from oil and gas sanctions. Trump said Hungary faced logistical hurdles due to its landlocked geography but criticized other European countries for continuing to buy Russian energy despite having ports, the BBC said.
Orban, one of Trump’s closest European allies, has resisted EU pressure to curb ties with Moscow. He argued that Hungary’s reliance on Russian pipelines is based on necessity, not politics, citing the country’s lack of seaports. He has leveraged access to cheap Russian energy to maintain domestic support ahead of next year’s elections, the BBC reported.
The two leaders also discussed the Ukraine war in what marked their first formal talks since Trump’s return to office. Trump said Orban “understands Putin” and expressed optimism that the war could end soon. Orban said only the U.S. and Hungary genuinely wanted peace, dismissing other Western governments as unrealistic for believing Ukraine could win militarily. When Trump asked if Ukraine could prevail, Orban replied, “A miracle can happen,” the BBC reported.
Hungary’s economy, already under strain, has been further weakened by U.S. tariffs on European goods that have hit its car exports. Despite Orban’s clashes with the EU over migration and democratic norms, Trump praised him as a leader “Europe should respect very strongly” for his stance on immigration, the BBC said.
