Trump Grants Hungary Russian Energy Sanctions Exemption

President Donald Trump granted Hungary a one-year exemption from U.S. sanctions on purchases of Russian oil and gas during a meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the White House on Friday. The decision allows the landlocked Central European nation to continue relying on key pipelines for its energy needs amid broader U.S. efforts to isolate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

The exemption came after Orban, a longtime ally of Trump, argued that Hungary's geographic constraints left it with limited alternatives to Russian supplies. Trump imposed sanctions last month on Russia's two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, targeting entities that facilitate their exports to pressure Moscow to end the nearly four-year conflict. While the penalties include secondary sanctions that could restrict access to U.S. financial systems, the White House carved out the temporary relief for Hungary, citing its dependence on overland pipelines such as TurkStream for gas and Druzhba, also known as Friendship, for oil.

A White House official confirmed the exemption's one-year duration, noting that Hungary committed to purchasing about $600 million in U.S. liquefied natural gas as part...