President Donald Trump has handed his authoritarian Hungarian ally Viktor Orbán a special exemption from Russian energy sanctions, a major boost for the far-right populist whose 15-year rule has been used as a blueprint by the MAGA movement.
Orbán visited Trump in Washington on Friday, with one of his explicit goals being to win a carve-out from the latest sanctions imposed against Russian oil and gas companies last month.
Hungary is a major importer of Russian energy, and the sanctions were set to squeeze its already ailing economy ahead of elections next year that present the biggest challenge to what the European Union calls Orbán’s “hybrid regime of electoral autocracy.”
In a post on X, Orbán said he had received a guarantee of “full sanction exemptions” for key pipelines, allowing Hungary to continue providing “the lowest energy prices in Europe.”
He said Hungary was in a “significantly different situation” from other European countries, suggesting it would be “impossible” to secure affordable energy if sanctions remained in place.
A White House official told Reuters that Hungary has received a one-year exemption from U.S. sanctions for using Russian oil and gas.
Hungary has meanwhile agreed to buy U.S. liquefied natural gas, the State Department said, noting contracts were expected to be worth about $600 million.
The two nations also agreed to work together on nuclear energy, with Hungary agreeing to purchase American nuclear fuel, which it currently buys from Russia.
Under Orbán’s premiership, Hungary is one of the only E.U. member states to maintain warm relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Orbán has also cultivated close ties with Trump’s allies in Washington, sharing CPAC stages, coordinating through think tanks, and syncing anti-immigrant and anti-woke messaging across the Atlantic.
In comments to state radio last week, Orbán made clear he would try to “make the Americans understand” that Hungary needs a carve-out for its continued purchases of Russian energy.
And Hungarian officials said in the run-up to the meeting that the prime minister aimed to discuss a path to a U.S.-Russia meeting and seek exemptions from U.S. energy sanctions. International Monetary Fund figures show Hungary relied on Russia for 74% of its gas and 86% of its oil in 2024.
Trump canceled his planned summit with Putin, which was slated to take place in Hungary’s capital, Budapest, after the Russian leader stuck to his hardline demands on ending his war in Ukraine.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed.