Hungary Seeks Extension of US Sanctions Exemption After Trump-Putin Diesel Deal
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar expects Washington to prolong Budapest's exemption from sanctions on Russian energy, arguing that a US-Russia diesel agreement makes the waiver logical for at least another year.
Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar has said he expects US President Donald Trump to extend Hungary's exemption from American sanctions on Russian energy, following Trump's announcement of a diesel deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In an interview with the outlet 444 on Saturday, Magyar argued that the agreement makes it illogical for Washington to withhold the waiver, which is due to expire in November.
«The US president will make the deals that he wants. On the other hand, this agreement is significant for Hungary,» Magyar said when asked about the diesel arrangement. He noted that Hungary's exemption from sanctions on Russian oil runs until November and is extended annually by the Americans. «If the US president has concluded an agreement on diesel exports, it would be illogical not to grant Hungary this exemption for at least another year,» he added.
The diesel deal was announced after a phone call between Trump and Putin last week, with the US president seeking to ease rising fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections on November 3. Moscow has said it would immediately release 300,000 metric tons of diesel, followed by another 500,000 metric tons the following month. According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak, the fuel will reach the US market within 15 to 20 days after contracts between Russian and American companies are signed, with negotiations currently under way.
The arrangement has drawn sharp criticism within the European Union. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described it as a «very risky» gamble that could undermine the entire Western sanctions policy toward Russia. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys argued that it «doesn't help neither the price of oil products nor the unity of the transatlantic community.» The objections reflect broader unease in Brussels over any easing of pressure on Moscow while the war in Ukraine continues.
Hungary's exemption was originally agreed between Trump and Magyar's predecessor, Viktor Orban, a vocal critic of Western economic restrictions on Moscow. As a landlocked country, Hungary remains heavily dependent on Russian pipeline oil and gas, with some 90 percent of its crude oil supplied by Moscow in 2025, according to S&P Global data. That dependence has made Budapest a persistent outlier in EU efforts to present a united front on sanctions.
Magyar acknowledged that the US-Russia diesel deal is «not welcome from Ukraine's point of view.» Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky criticized the agreement as «weak» and insisted that the global energy shortage stemmed not from Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries, as Trump had claimed, but from the American war on Iran. Speaking to journalists after an EU summit in Brussels on Friday, Zelensky warned that «gas deals will follow. And I am absolutely certain of this. After gas, they will lift sanctions on other things as well.»
On Saturday, Trump also signed an executive order waiving sanctions championed by the late US Senator Lindsey Graham, which had proposed 500 percent tariffs on imports from Russia and 100 percent tariffs on major buyers of Russian oil and gas. White House Deputy Press Secretary Taylor Rogers defended the move, saying it «provides the president with additional authorities to pursue a peaceful resolution» of the Ukraine conflict. «Enforcing the sanctions provisions now would impede ongoing US efforts to negotiate a durable and comprehensive peace agreement,» she explained.
For Budapest, the stakes are immediate. The annual US waiver has allowed Hungary to keep receiving Russian crude through the Druzhba pipeline without falling foul of American penalties. Magyar's expectation that the exemption will be renewed for at least another year suggests Budapest is betting that Washington's push to lower fuel prices and advance peace talks will outweigh European objections. Whether that bet holds will depend on decisions in Washington that could reshape the sanctions landscape for the whole continent.
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