Orban meets Trump in Washington to discuss Russian oil, war against Ukraine
Editor's note: This story is being updated.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrived at the White House on Nov. 7 to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump, as Budapest seeks an exemption from recent sanctions targeting Russia's oil sector.
The two countries are planning to sign a "significant nuclear cooperation agreement," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.
"(We will) address that, given our geographic realities, maintaining the ability to purchase energy from Russia without sanctions or legal restrictions is essential for Hungary's energy security," Szijjarto wrote on X.
Orban, a close ideological ally of Trump, has defied pressure to halt purchases of Russian oil and gas. After the Trump administration imposed sanctions on Russian energy giants Lukoil and Rosneft in late October, Orban said Hungary would seek ways to "circumvent" the restrictions.
Trump later told the media he is "looking at" granting Hungary an exception from Russian oil sanctions in response to Budapest's plea.
"Sure, we're looking at it, because it's very difficult for (Orban) to get the oil and gas from other areas," Trump said alongside the Hungarian leader. "As you know, they don't have the advantage of having sea. It's a great country, it's a big country, but they don’t have sea. They don't have the ports. And so they have a difficult problem."
Orban and Trump are also expected to discuss Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, as the two seek to portray themselves as mediators in peace efforts. According to Szijjarto, Budapest is ready to host possible peace talks "once the preparations are complete."
After the cancellation of a Trump–Putin summit in Budapest in October, Orban is trying to broker a new meeting in hopes of bringing Russia’s war in Ukraine to an end.
"If there is a meeting — wherever it may take place — that can genuinely lead to a ceasefire and an end to the war, Ukraine will support any such format," President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier on Nov. 7. "But if these meetings are only meant as an 'electoral fireworks show' for Orban and produce no real results, then we can't support them."
Orban, a close Trump ally and widely seen as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest partner in the EU, has maintained ties with Moscow despite the war and has repeatedly portrayed Ukraine as a threat to Hungary’s security and economy.
