Overview
- At a White House meeting, President Trump said he would consider exempting Hungary from new U.S. sanctions on Russian energy because the country relies on pipelines and lacks seaports.
- Orbán stated Hungary secured complete relief for the Druschba oil line and Turkish Stream gas route, but U.S. officials have not corroborated his account.
- October sanctions targeting Rosneft and Lukoil carry potential secondary penalties for buyers, putting Hungary’s MOL and its refinery supply at risk if no carve‑out is granted.
- A bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced a resolution urging Hungary to end Russian oil and gas imports by 2027, echoing EU plans to phase out remaining pipeline derogations.
- The Kremlin rejected reports that Sergei Lavrov was sidelined after a postponed Trump–Putin Budapest summit, as Putin has ordered only a feasibility review of possible nuclear tests and officials cite readiness at Novaya Zemlya.