Orban to meet with Trump over Russian oil sanctions

Hungary's pro-Russian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he will soon meet with US President Donald Trump to discuss the impact of US sanctions on Russian oil. He told in an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

The talks aim to find a solution to protect Hungary from the impact of US sanctions against Russian oil companies.

"I will soon be in Washington to discuss this with President Trump. We will try to find a way out, especially for Hungary," the Hungarian prime minister said .

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told reporters on Monday that a meeting between Trump and Orbán is scheduled for the second half of next week.

As Bloomberg points out, Hungary depends on Russia mainly for oil and gas imports. Unlike many of its European Union neighbors, who have made efforts to reduce their dependence on Russian energy following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Hungary has increased its purchases.

The Hungarian government has tried to convince the US administration that its landlocked status leaves it no choice but to rely on Russian oil. This is despite an alternative oil pipeline connecting Hungary to the Adriatic Sea via Croatia.

"Hungary, unlike many of its neighbors, has not developed any plans or taken any active steps to reduce its imports of Russian energy," US Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker told Fox News on Sunday.

"So we will continue to work with them, as well as with their neighbors like Croatia and other countries that can help them break this addiction," Whitaker added .

• on October 24, Hungarian Prime Minister and close ally of US President Donald Trump Viktor Orban said that Budapest is working to find a way around new US sanctions against Moscow's major oil companies.