Washington, D.C. – U.S. President Donald Trump indicated on Friday that he is considering granting Hungary an exemption from American sanctions on Russian energy. Trump made these remarks during a meeting at the White House with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
“We are considering it, because it’s very hard for them to get oil and gas from other areas,” Trump stated.
Prime Minister Orbán described the issue as a “life-or-death issue” for his landlocked country. He warned that if the sanctions were fully implemented, the impact on the Hungarian people would be severe, and this was the primary topic he had come to discuss with President Trump.
The Hungarian leader said he would present Trump with several proposals to create a workable exemption system. “I’m not asking for any gift or special favour,” Orbán clarified. “I just want the United States to understand that the energy sanctions imposed on Russia have put countries like Hungary, which have no sea access, in an impossible situation.”
