Trump says he won’t grant Hungary an exception from U.S. sanctions on Russian oil

US President Donald Trump said on Friday (31 October) he refused to grant Hungary an exemption from American sanctions on Russian oil despite a personal request from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Speaking to reporters in Air Force One, Trump confirmed that Orbán had appealed for an exception, citing Hungary’s reliance on Russian crude delivered through pipelines.

“He asked for an exemption, but we didn’t grant it—not a single one. He’s my friend, yes, but he asked for an exemption,” Trump said.

💥Ouch! Trump refused Viktor Orbán's request for an exemption from US sanctions on Russian oil: "He has asked for an exemption. We haven't granted one… He's a friend of mine."
The two will meet next week in Washington, D.C.—friendship is friendship, but business is business. pic.twitter.com/t4WZinLDWR
— Szabolcs Panyi (@panyiszabolcs) October 31, 2025

Orbán said earlier on Friday he hopes to convince Trump that Hungary should be exempted from U.S. sanctions on Russian oil because of its high dependence on pipeline networks for its energy supplies.

Orbán has said he will discuss U.S. sanctions on Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil with Trump at a meeting scheduled for 7 November and aims to conclude a broad economic agreement with the United States.

“Hungary is a landlocked country… We are dependent on those transport routes through which energy can reach Hungary. These are mostly pipelines,” Orbán said.

“We have to make the Americans understand this peculiar situation … if we want them to allow exemptions from the American sanctions against Russia,” he said.

Orbán said that despite having access to the sea, Germany had sought an exemption for one of its refineries.

Germany’s economy minister said on Tuesday he had received assurances from Washington that Rosneft’s German business would be exempt from the sanctions because the assets are no longer under Russian control. Rosneft’s German arm owns a controlling stake in the Schwedt oil refinery.

The new U.S. sanctions, which pose a risk to Hungary’s reliance on crude imports from Russia, were announced days after a fire at the main Danube refinery of Hungarian oil group MOL that forced it to operate at reduced capacity.

On Thursday, Hungary’s government published draft legislation to amend a law on stockpiling of imported crude and crude products to enable it to designate so-called standby filling stations to provide fuel to critical users in a supply emergency.

Orbán’s talks with Trump next week will be his first bilateral meeting with the U.S. president since his long-time ally returned to the White House.

Lukoil, Russia’s second-largest oil producer, announced on 30 October it has accepted a binding offer from Swiss-based commodities powerhouse Gunvor Group Ltd. to offload its entire international arm, LUKOIL International GmbH, in a move driven by escalating Western sanctions over Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

With the binding offer accepted, the ball is now in the U.S. Treasury court to clear the sale of LUKOIL International GmbH to Gunvor.

With Reuters, edited by g.g.

Caption: A handout photo made available by the Hungarian prime minister’s press office shows Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (L) shaking hands with US President-elect Donald Trump (R) at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, United States, 9 December 2024. EPA/ZOLTAN FISCHER HANDOUT