The United States announced an exception for Hungary to sanctions against Russian energy / What Orban answered when Trump asked him if Ukraine could win the war

The United States has granted Hungary a one-year exemption from US sanctions over its use of Russian oil and gas, a White House official said on Friday, after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban pressed his request for a delay during a friendly meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington.

Last month, Trump imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft, which raised the issue of additional sanctions on entities in countries that buy oil from those firms.

Orban, a longtime Trump ally, spoke with him at the White House on Friday for their first bilateral meeting since the Republican returned to power and explained why his country needed to use Russian oil at a time when Trump is pressing Europe to stop doing so.

“We are analyzing the situation because it is very different for him”

Orban said the issue was vital for Hungary, which is a European country, and pledged to present “the consequences for the Hungarian people and the Hungarian economy of giving up oil and gas from Russia.”

Trump, who wants to pressure Moscow to end the war with Ukraine, has been sympathetic to Orban's position.

“We're looking at the situation because it's very different for him to get oil and gas from other areas,” Trump said. “As you know, they don't have … the advantage of being landlocked. It's a wonderful country, it's a big country, but it's landlocked. It has no ports,” the US leader said.

“But many European countries are buying oil and natural gas from Russia, and have been for years. And I said, 'What does that mean?'” Trump added.

Hungary has also promised to buy American LNG

The White House official noted that, in addition to the sanctions relief, Hungary has committed to buy liquefied natural gas from the US, with contracts worth about $600 million.

Hungary has maintained its dependence on Russian energy since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in 2022, drawing criticism from several European Union and NATO allies.

Figures from the International Monetary Fund show that Hungary depended on Russia for 74% of its gas and 86% of its oil in 2024, warning that an EU-wide cut in Russian natural gas supplies could cause production losses in Hungary of more than 4% of GDP.

“A miracle can happen,” Orban said of Ukraine

The two also talked about Russia's war with Ukraine. The talk came after Trump said last month he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital, but the meeting was postponed after Russia rejected a truce.

On Friday, Trump said Russia simply does not want the fighting to stop. “The basic contention is that they just don't want to stop yet. And I think they will,” he said.

The US president asked Orban if he thought Ukraine could win the war. “A miracle can happen,” Orban replied.

Orban said the war in Ukraine was “the most important issue for us”.

“We would like to discuss with you how we can contribute to your peace efforts,” the Hungarian prime minister added. “I think Viktor feels we're going to end this war in the not-too-distant future,” Trump said.

Then asked if he still wanted to travel to Budapest for a summit with Putin, Trump said that he “would love” to have this meeting in the Hungarian capital.

“I'd like him to stay in Hungary, in Budapest. In the end, I decided I didn't want to attend that meeting because I didn't think anything important was going to happen. But if we're going to have it, I'd like it to be in Budapest,” Trump said.

The US president said he and Orban “agree that the war will end”, and Orban told reporters he had “a few ideas” about how that might happen.