Trump Exempts Hungary from Sanctions on Russian Oil and Gas Imports

U.S. President Donald Trump has granted Hungary a one-year waiver from American sanctions over continued purchases of Russian oil and gas, a White House spokesperson confirmed to BBC News. Trump had previously said he was considering a special carve-out for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a long-standing ally who has maintained close relations with Moscow throughout the war in Ukraine.

During Orbán’s visit to Washington, Trump noted that he was weighing such a move because “it’s very hard for him to get oil and gas from other sources.” The decision follows last month’s effective blacklisting of two of Russia’s largest oil companies, with Washington threatening sanctions against buyers of their crude.

After the meeting, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó wrote on X that the United States had granted Budapest “full and unlimited exemption from sanctions on oil and gas.” U.S. officials later clarified that the waiver would apply for one year.

For Orbán, the outcome amounts to a significant diplomatic win. He has repeatedly warned that sanctions could cripple Hungary’s economy. In the public portion of the talks, Trump expressed sympathy for Budapest’s position as a landlocked country dependent on Russian energy, but stopped short of concrete assurances. It has since become clear that the exemption was granted nonetheless, despite the president’s pledge just two weeks earlier to punish anyone doing business with Russian energy firms.

Under the deal, Hungary has agreed to purchase several hundred million dollars’ worth of U.S. gas—a move likely to irritate many European capitals that have long condemned Orbán’s proximity to Moscow. Hungary’s prime minister remains one of Donald Trump’s most steadfast allies, echoing his populist rhetoric on migration and “traditional values.” That loyalty has now apparently earned him special favor from the White House ahead of a difficult parliamentary election in the spring.

Trump added that he understood Hungary’s particular constraints, including its lack of access to the sea, but expressed “deep puzzlement” at other European countries that continue to buy Russian energy without facing similar limitations.

Orbán, a persistent critic of EU efforts to tighten pressure on Moscow, once again argued that pipelines are neither “ideology” nor “politics,” but a “physical reality” dictated by geography. He is betting on his country’s dependence on Russian energy to preserve cordial ties with the Kremlin while promising voters “cheap Russian energy.”

During the talks—their first official meeting since Trump’s return to power—the U.S. president and Orbán also discussed the war in Ukraine. Trump remarked that “Orbán understands Putin well and knows him personally” and voiced confidence that the war could end “in the foreseeable future.” The Hungarian leader, for his part, claimed that only their two countries “truly want peace in Ukraine.”

“All other governments prefer to see the war continue because many of them still believe Ukraine can win on the battlefield. This is an illusion,” Orbán said. Asked by Trump whether it was fair to say Ukraine could not win, he replied: “You know, miracles do happen.”

In addition to sanctions, Hungary has been hit by Trump’s tariffs on European goods, which have further weakened an already fragile economy. Despite Budapest’s persistent clashes with Brussels over migration and the rule of law, Trump urged European leaders “to treat this leader with profound respect, because he was right on migration.”