Orbán seeks to soften Russia sanctions in talks with Trump
US President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (photo: Getty Images)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán aims to persuade US President Donald Trump to ease the new sanctions against Russia, according to reports by Bloomberg and The Guardian.
The Prime Minister of Hungary, who had expected political gains and increased investments after Donald Trump returned to the White House, has found himself in a difficult situation.
Despite Orbán's alignment with the right-wing MAGA parties (Make America Great Again — a pro-Trump conservative movement within the Republican Party) that brought Trump to power, the Hungarian leader, who is set to visit Washington, seeks to ease sanctions against Russia.
These measures threaten to undermine his already fragile efforts to run for a fifth consecutive term in next year's elections.
To secure an exemption, Orbán is bringing a package of proposals to the United States. According to sources, Budapest plans to sign a $100 million deal with Westinghouse Electric to purchase nuclear fuel instead of Russian supplies. It is also considering a $600 million contract to import US liquefied natural gas over five years.
Separately, a memorandum is being developed regarding the potential purchase of up to 10 small modular reactors, valued at up to $20 billion, which could serve as an alternative to the delayed Russian project to expand Hungary's nuclear power plant.
The agreements may also cover the defense sector and financial cooperation, Hungarian officials note.
The White House confirms that the talks will address mutual interests and expects several commercial agreements to be concluded.
Experts emphasize that Orbán's strategy of increasing purchases of Russian energy resources after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is becoming increasingly unsustainable.
The EU plans to phase out Russian energy by 2027 altogether, and failure to secure relief from US sanctions could lead to a 10% increase in fuel prices in Hungary, exacerbating the overall economic crisis.
Trump–Putin meeting
At the same time, it is reported that Orbán will visit the White House as he tries to organize another summit between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, which, according to Orbán's advisers, could help end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump–Orbán meeting
In mid-October, US President Donald Trump held another phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Shortly after that, he announced a leaders' summit that was supposed to take place in Budapest.
However, this meeting was disrupted because Russia did not change its position on the demands for ending the war in Ukraine. At the same time, Trump did not rule out a meeting with Putin later on.
Today, November 7, a meeting is scheduled between Trump and Orbán. The Hungarian leader, ahead of his trip to Washington, announced that one of the topics of their talks would be the war in Ukraine.
