Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday that he would try to persuade US President Donald Trump to grant Hungary exemptions from Washington’s newly announced sanctions targeting Russian oil when he meets with the president next week. The Trump administration unveiled sanctions against Russia’s major state-affiliated oil firms Rosneft and Lukoil last week, a move that could expose their foreign buyers to secondary sanctions.
While most European Union member states sharply reduced or halted imports of Russian fossil fuels after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Hungary and Slovakia have maintained their pipeline deliveries. Hungary has even increased the share of Russian oil in its energy mix.
