US President Donald Trump has granted Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban a one-year exemption from sanctions targeting Russian oil and gas purchases, following an unusually cordial White House meeting that underscored the close relationship between the two right-wing leaders.
The decision comes just weeks after Trump imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, saying he had run out of patience with President Vladimir Putin over the continued invasion of Ukraine, now nearing its fourth year.
Trump has pushed European allies to cut off energy imports he says fuel Moscow’s war effort—but Hungary pressed for special treatment.
During the meeting, which featured mutual praise and political alignment, Trump said he was weighing an exemption because Hungary’s landlocked geography leaves it dependent on Russian pipelines.
“They don’t have the advantage of having a sea,” Trump told reporters.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto later claimed Washington had granted a “full and unlimited exemption.” But a White House official clarified to AFP that the waiver will last one year, not indefinitely.
In exchange, Hungary committed to purchasing roughly $600 million worth of US liquefied natural gas.
Orban Balances Moscow and Washington While Defying the EU
Orban has maintained unusually warm ties with both Washington and Moscow, even as he frequently clashes with EU leaders over how hard to press the Kremlin.
He has repeatedly rejected sending military aid to Ukraine, blocked key EU decisions related to Kyiv’s membership bid, and resisted Brussels’ efforts to enforce rule-of-law standards.
The Hungarian leader told Trump that reliance on Russian energy was a necessity, not a political stance. “Pipeline is not an ideological or political issue,” Orban said. “It’s a physical reality because we don’t have ports.”
The US recently ordered companies working with Russian giants Rosneft and Lukoil to sever ties within a month or face harsh secondary sanctions that cut off access to American financial and logistics networks.
Orban, diverging sharply from most European leaders, also said it would take a “miracle” for Ukraine to defeat Russia.
Trump Praises Orban on Migration, Urges EU to ‘Respect Hungary’
Trump offered full-throated support for Orban on the divisive issue of migration, a longtime point of friction between Budapest and Brussels.
“I think they should respect Hungary and respect this leader very, very strongly because he’s been right on immigration,” Trump said, again asserting—without statistical evidence—that migrants are linked to higher crime rates in the United States.
Orban has long clashed with EU institutions over migration policy, judicial independence, media freedom, and democratic norms. He has also blocked EU efforts to deepen support for Ukraine and has often acted as the bloc’s internal dissenter.
Mixed Returns From Trump’s Return to Power
Orban has maintained a close personal relationship with Trump, visiting him three times at Mar-a-Lago last year. Since Trump returned to office, Hungary has seen both benefits and setbacks.
Washington lifted sanctions on senior Orban aide Antal Rogan and reinstated Hungary in the US visa waiver program. But Trump’s tariffs on the European Union have struck at the heart of Hungary’s export-driven auto industry, intensifying the country’s economic challenges.
Analysts say the White House meeting—regardless of the limited sanctions reprieve—is likely to give Orban an important symbolic victory as he faces his toughest re-election battle in 15 years amid economic stagnation and growing domestic discontent.
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