Overview
- Hungary received an exemption from U.S. sanctions targeting purchases tied to Rosneft and Lukoil, which a White House official described to Reuters as lasting one year.
- Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó assert the waiver is unlimited and say it covers supplies via the TurkStream gas line and the Druzhba oil pipeline.
- As part of the arrangement, Hungary agreed to buy roughly $600 million in U.S. liquefied natural gas and to work on sourcing American nuclear fuel, according to U.S. statements and reporting.
- Critics warn the carve‑out could weaken sanctions pressure on Moscow, with one analyst estimating it could enable more than €1 billion to reach the Kremlin.
- President Donald Trump hosted Orbán at the White House to discuss energy, trade, and Ukraine, and he did not rule out the possibility of a future meeting with Vladimir Putin.