Overview
- Hungary will be allowed to keep buying Russian oil and gas for one year without U.S. penalties, a White House official told CNN, with the move framed as relief for a landlocked country heavily reliant on Russian supplies.
- Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said the carve-out is total and without a time limit, asserting it covers deliveries via the Druzhba oil pipeline and the TurkStream gas route.
- A White House official said Hungary agreed to purchase roughly $600 million of U.S. liquefied natural gas and to buy $114 million in nuclear fuel from Westinghouse in connection with the waiver.
- The step follows U.S. sanctions last month on Rosneft and Lukoil, and analysts warn the exemption could weaken enforcement credibility and encourage others to skirt restrictions tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
- Trump said he would like to meet Vladimir Putin in Budapest after previously shelving such plans, noting earlier preparations were dropped because his team saw no guarantee of progress.