Trump grants Hungary one-year exemption from Russian energy sanctions

Donald Trump has granted Hungary a one-year exemption from US sanctions for buying Russian oil and gas, a White House official told CNN Friday, after Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met the US President in Washington.

For months, Trump has berated European Union countries for continuing to buy oil and gas from Russia, saying this helps fuel the Kremlin’s war machine and prolong the war in Ukraine that he has been at pains to end.

But when Orbán – whose country buys more Russian oil and gas than any other EU nation – showed up at the White House on Friday, Trump was full of praise for the “great leader” of a “great country,” claiming it has been “difficult” for Hungary to wean itself off Russian fossil fuels, since it is landlocked.