Viktor Orban says Hungary wants to 'circumvent' new US sanctions against Russian oil companies
Viktor Orban with President Donald Trump at the International Summit for Peace in Gaza, which took place in Egypt on October 13, 2025, PHOTO: Yoan Valat / AP / Profimedia Images
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday that his country is working to find a way to circumvent US sanctions on Russian oil companies, without elaborating on a topic that risks drawing the displeasure of the administration of Donald Trump, a close ally of the Budapest-based leader, Reuters reports.
Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term as president on Wednesday. They target Lukoil and Rosneft, Russia's biggest oil companies, in an attempt to pressure Moscow into accepting a ceasefire deal in Ukraine.
Trump's decision sent oil prices soaring and raised questions for Hungary and Slovakia, the biggest buyers of Russian oil in the European Union, after they won exemptions from EU restrictions.
Orban said in an interview with Budapest public radio on Friday that he had discussed the sanctions with representatives of MOL, Hungary's oil and gas company.
“We are working on a way to circumvent this sanction,” Orban said in the interview, with Reuters noting that he was careful not to imply that Hungary intended to openly defy the US on the issue.
Earlier this month he said he personally discussed the topic of Russian oil imports with the White House leader.
Viktor Orbán said that Hungary cannot change its geography
“The American president respects the sovereignty of other countries, he only asked me to present the situation to him – that's an important difference,” Viktor Orban told reporters at the informal summit of EU leaders in Copenhagen.
The Hungarian prime minister said that since Hungary is a landlocked country, it has “no other option” but to continue importing oil from Russia. “We cannot change the geography, regardless of political demands,” he argued as Washington mounted pressure on the EU and other countries to freeze energy imports from Russia to pressure the Kremlin.
MOL's refineries in Hungary and Slovakia, with a total processing capacity of 14.2 million tons of crude oil per year, depend on Russian oil transported through the Drujba pipeline.
MOL's Slovakian subsidiary, Slovnaft, said on Thursday it was analyzing the possible effects of US sanctions on its activities, which are expected to take effect later in November.
Last year, MOL faced supply problems after Ukraine imposed sanctions on Lukoil. The company then entered into agreements to take ownership of crude oil volumes on the Belarus-Ukraine border to maintain the flow of supplies.
