Hungary’s nationalist prime minister plans to seek permission to buy Russian oil despite US sanctions.
Published November 7, 2025
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House, where he is expected to seek an exemption from US sanctions on Russian oil purchases.
In a state radio interview published on Friday, the right-wing nationalist and longtime ally of President Trump said it was necessary to “achieve results” given Russia’s central role in supplying oil and gas to Hungary.
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“Hungary is highly dependent on Russian oil and gas,” Prime Minister Orbán said in a recent interview with Italian publication La Repubblica. “Without them, energy prices would rise and reserves would run out.”
The meeting will test whether Mr. Orban’s close relationship with President Trump is enough to secure an exemption from expanded U.S. sanctions targeting Russia’s energy sector, the kind of pressure aimed at nudging Russia toward negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
“President Trump and Prime Minister Orban have had a long and positive relationship and are very friendly with each other,” James Bachik, an analyst at the Atlantic Council’s European Center, told Al Jazeera.
“We will see what exemptions he can get. Donald Trump certainly has such personal relationships. He has even sympathized with Hungary’s position on Russia’s energy dependence in the past,” he added. “But the question is whether Hungary will bring enough to the table to qualify for that exemption.”
Other countries, including U.S. allies such as India, which had previously bought Russian oil with little protest from the U.S. government, are scrambling to respond to the sudden change in U.S. policy, which threatens to impose punitive sanctions and restrict access to Russian oil.
Among European leaders, Mr. Orbán is also considered more sympathetic to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Hungary has often been a stumbling block to European Union efforts to increase pressure on Russia.
Mr. Orbán’s ideological affinity with Mr. Trump, a far-right leader who has pushed a hard-line vision of immigration restrictions and sought to crack down on political opposition, could help Mr. Orbán secure relief from potential sanctions.
“If ever there was a golden age for Hungarian-American relations, it is now,” Orbán said in a recent social media post. “We unite on the important issues of our time: war and peace, immigration, and the protection of family values.”
However, US tariffs on the EU are having a negative impact on the Hungarian economy. A concession on the purchase of Russian oil could give Orbán a victory and boost his political standing at home. President Trump has frequently used U.S. influence to support political allies in other countries.
