During a conversation with reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump admitted that the Hungarian prime minister had requested an exemption from sanctions but had not received permission. “He asked for release. We didn't grant it to him, but he is my friend,” said the US president, referring to this case.
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Prime Minister Orban announced in an interview for Radio Kossuth that during his visit to Washington scheduled for next Friday, he intends to convince Trump about Hungary's difficult situation. As he emphasized, his country is largely dependent on supplies of crude oil from Russia, which goes to Hungary via the Druzhba pipeline.
“In order to seek sanctions relief, it is important for the US to understand the difficulties associated with our geographical location.” – Orban explained.
Currently, Hungary imports over 80 percent. of its crude oil from Russia, which has only intensified in recent years. Trump previously expressed understanding for Budapest's difficulties in becoming independent from Russian raw materials, pointing to the lack of access to sea ports and the need to use pipelines. He emphasized, however, that he did not want Hungary and Slovakia, which is in a similar situation, to be “blamed” for their energy dependence on Russia.
Still, U.S. officials, including U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker, have expressed expectation in recent days that that Hungary, Slovakia and Türkiye will present plans to abandon Russian raw materials. Whitaker emphasized that Budapest has not presented such a solution so far.
Read also: Hungary has an answer for Donald Trump. “Not ideology, but geography”
It is worth recalling that the only known exception to the sanctions so far is the German subsidiary of Rosneft, whose assets in Germany were placed under trusteeship in 2022. This decision was dictated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. These assets include, among others: refinery in Schwedt, supplying fuel to north-eastern Germany and Berlin. The German authorities argued that the separation of Rosneft's assets from the main company was necessary to maintain the country's energy security.
Viktor Orban's visit to the White House will be his first meeting with Donald Trump since 2019.
