USA Trump examines exemption for Hungary regarding Russian oil
At a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, US President Donald Trump expressed his openness to a possible exemption from US sanctions against Russian energy. Orban asked the US government in the White House to continue importing oil and gas from Russia because there were no short-term alternatives. Trump said that the request was being "looked into" because Hungary, as a landlocked country, has no access to seaports.
07.11.2025, 20:32
SDA
EU plan envisages renouncing Russian imports
The US government only imposed new sanctions against Russian energy companies in October, which could also result in secondary punitive measures against buyers. On Thursday, Republican and Democratic US senators jointly introduced a resolution calling on Hungary to reduce its dependence on Russian energy and adhere to the EU's plan to completely eliminate Russian imports by the end of 2027.
Hungary obtains the majority of its oil via the Soviet "Druzhba" pipeline via Ukraine. Although there is a second pipeline via Croatia, Orban argued that this can currently only be used as a supplement. He described security of supply as "vital" and warned of the consequences for the economy and households if Russian oil were to be cut off in the short term.
Trump now sees other EU states in particular as having a duty
Trump then struck a much more conciliatory tone than before. While he criticized other unnamed European states for continuing to buy Russian energy on a large scale, he presented Hungary as a special case. The landlocked country has difficult conditions without access to ports through which ships can deliver oil from other regions and is therefore "in a different position".
Orban had traveled to the meeting with a large delegation of ministers, entrepreneurs and political allies. Many EU partners see Hungary's stance as a weakening of the common front against Moscow and accuse Budapest of having made little effort to find oil alternatives. Orban has repeatedly threatened to veto EU sanctions packages. For Orban, Trump's support is therefore also symbolically important - just a few months before the Hungarian parliamentary elections, which are considered to be the most difficult in years.
