BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said Friday that he plans to talk to President Donald Trump next week to persuade him to grant Hungary an exemption from Washington’s newly announced sanctions targeting Russian oil.
The Trump administration revealed Sanctions against major Russian state oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil took action last week that could expose foreign buyers, including customers in India, China and Central Europe, to secondary sanctions.
Meanwhile, most European Union member states have significantly reduced or stopped Russian fossil fuel imports. invasion of ukraine On February 24, 2022, Hungary and Slovakia maintained pipeline deliveries. Hungary is further increasing the share of Russian oil in its energy mix.
Trump ally Orbán, who is scheduled to visit Washington next week for his first bilateral meeting with the president since taking office in January, has long argued that landlocked Hungary has no viable alternatives to Russian oil and that substituting those supplies would cause economic collapse. critic refute the claim.
“If we want an exception to the US sanctions that are hitting Russia, we have to make the Americans understand this strange situation,” Prime Minister Orbán said in comments on state radio on Friday.
The Hungarian leader, widely considered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest partner within the EU, has maintained friendly relations with the Kremlin despite the war and has taken a combative stance toward Ukraine, viewing the neighbor as a major threat to Hungary’s security and economy.
Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday that both Washington and Moscow aim to end the war, but Ukraine and the European Union are the main obstacles to peace. However, planned Meeting between President Trump and President Putin in Budapest The plan was recently scrapped after Russian authorities made clear they opposed an immediate ceasefire in the conflict.
Prime Minister Orbán said he would be accompanied to Washington by a “large delegation” of ministers, economic officials and security advisers aimed at a “complete review” of U.S.-Hungarian relations. He said Budapest wants to finalize an economic cooperation package with the United States that includes new American investments in Hungary.
However, he stressed that any agreement would depend on ensuring Hungary’s continued access to Russian energy.
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