Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán plans to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to exempt Hungary from new U.S. sanctions on Russian oil when he visits Washington next week

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday that he would try to persuade U.S. 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 — including customers in India, China and Central Europe — 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 Feb. 24, 2022, Hungary and Slovakia have maintained their pipeline deliveries. Hungary has even increased the share of Russian oil in its energy mix.

Orbán, a Trump ally who is expected to visit Washington next week for his first bilateral meeting with the president since he retook office in January, has long argued that landlocked Hungary has no viable alternatives to Russian crude, and that replacing those suppl

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán plans to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump to exempt Hungary from new U.S. sanctions on Russian oil when he visits Washington next week

BUDAPEST, Hungary — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday that he would try to persuade U.S. 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 — including customers in India, China and Central Europe — 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 Feb. 24, 2022, Hungary and Slovakia have maintained their pipeline deliveries. Hungary has even increased the share of Russian oil in its energy mix.

Orbán, a Trump ally who is expected to visit Washington next week for his first bilateral meeting with the president since he retook office in January, has long argued that landlocked Hungary has no viable alternatives to Russian crude, and that replacing those suppl