Nov 7, 2025, 7:26 amNov 7, 2025, 7:26 am
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is expected to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House today. It will be about the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
The two heads of government are said to generally like each other, but there is one point of contention: energy from Russia.
Meet today in the White House: Viktor Orban and Donald Trump.Image: keystone
Why Orban wants Russia’s oil
Orban wants to talk to Trump about oil and gas imports from Russia. Despite the US sanctions against Moscow, the Hungarian hopes to be able to continue energy trade with the country. Hungary is heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas.
Orban – unlike other EU countries such as Germany or Bulgaria – has never made serious efforts to free his country from this dependence. In the EU, the Hungarian obtained an exemption that allows Russian oil imports via pipelines – Hungary has been connected to Russia via such a pipeline since communist times. Brussels plans to lift this exception from 2027.
These are Trump’s goals
The USA wants to prevent Moscow from selling energy to other countries. The Trump administration wants to stop the revenue that Russia uses to finance the war against Ukraine.
The US recently imposed sanctions on Russian oil companies in an attempt to persuade Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire. The USA had already imposed additional tariffs on India months ago because the country trades energy with Russia. Trump’s diplomatic attempts to end Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine have so far failed. Russia started the war more than three and a half years ago.
This is what the Hungarians want to achieve with Trump
In Budapest, Orban’s people were already raising great expectations for the meeting in the White House before they left. The Hungarian head of government will “try to convince Trump that he should exempt Hungary from the sanctions plans against Russian oil,” said Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.
But that is exactly what is questionable. Trump recently told reporters that Orban had asked for an exception but was not granted it. Observers assume that the Hungarian may still be able to negotiate a temporary solution. (dab/sda/dpa)