Orbán seeks exemption from Russian oil sanctions in Trump talks

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will travel to Washington next week to meet U.S. President Donald Trump on Nov. 8, seeking an exemption from newly announced American sanctions on major Russian oil companies, Orbán and Hungarian officials said. The meeting, for which the precise location has not been finalized, is expected to include a large Hungarian delegation of ministers, economic officials and security advisers and to cover both energy and economic cooperation.

The U.S. administration last week announced restrictions targeting Russian state-affiliated oil firms Rosneft and Lukoil. Washington says the measures are designed to pressure Moscow over the war in Ukraine; the sanctions could expose some foreign buyers of Russian crude to secondary penalties. Orbán has made securing continued access to Russian energy a precondition for any broader economic deal with the United States, and he told state radio that he would press Trump to grant Hungary an exemption.

Hungary relies heavily on pipeline deliveries of Russian crude. The government says the country is landlocked and lacks viable alternatives to Russian oil, a position Orbán reiterated Friday when he warned that...