At White House meeting, Hungary’s Orbán to seek Trump’s blessing to keep buying Russian oil

By JUSTIN SPIKE and CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press BUDAPEST Hungary AP When Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb n visits President Donald Trump in the White House on Friday his priority will be convincing the U S administration to turn a blind eye to Hungary s dogged commitment to buying Russian oil a possible test of how deep the affinity goes between the two friendly leaders Related Articles Maine Democratic Rep Jared Golden won t seek reelection in competitive US House district Nancy Pelosi won t seek reelection ending her storied career in the US House FAA says it will list airports where it is reducing flights during the establishment shutdown Shutdown progress in doubt as Democrats grow emboldened from polling wins Battenfeld Could Michelle Wu crack the national ticket in Orb n once an outspoken opponent of Russia s dominance of Hungary during the Cold War has in the last decade made a dramatic shift toward Moscow that has baffled his opponents and a great number of earlier allies Widely considered Russian President Vladimir Putin s greater part reliable advocate in the European Union Orb n has maintained warm relations with the Kremlin despite its war against Ukraine He has also curried favor with Trump and his MAGA movement which views Hungary as a shining example of conservative nationalism despite the erosion of its democratic institutions But now as Russia s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches its fourth anniversary Orb n is under increasing pressure from both Brussels and Washington to end Hungary s reliance on Russian oil a fund seen as critical for funding Moscow s war Last month the Trump administration levied sanctions on Russian state-affiliated capacity giants Lukoil and Rosneft that could expose their foreign buyers like India China and Hungary to secondary sanctions Yet the Hungarian leader hopes his personal relationship with Trump will amount him points at Friday s meeting the first between the two leaders since Trump retook office in January In comments to state radio last week Orb n made clear he would try to make the Americans understand that Hungary necessities a carve out for its continued purchases of Russian vitality Orb n says no alternatives to Russian oil At the heart of Orb n s appeals for an exemption is his claim that Hungary landlocked in the heart of Central Europe has no viable alternatives to Russian crude and that replacing those supplies would trigger an economic collapse Critics dispute that claim Yet Trump has indicated Orb n s arguments may have stuck a chord In October he called Orb n a very great leader and noted Hungary was sort of stuck when it came to Russian oil purchases Trump disclosed Hungary has one pipeline the Druzhba which delivers Russian crude through Ukraine and into Central Europe However another pipeline the Adria which originates at Croatia s Adriatic coast also delivers non-Russian crude to Hungary s main refinery a course Orb n s critics and the Croatian oil transit company argue could handle Hungary s vitality necessities Daniel Fried an Atlantic Council fellow who is a former U S ambassador to Poland dismissed Orb n s complaints that Hungary doesn t have other options for resource Don t insult everyone s intelligence Fried mentioned noting that Poland also in Central Europe spent years preparing for alternatives Hungary has done none of this They ve whined and complained While majority of EU member states sharply reduced or halted imports of Russian fossil fuels after Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb Hungary and neighboring Slovakia have maintained their pipeline deliveries Hungary has even increased the share of Russian oil in its vigor mix from before the war to around according to a account by independent researchers Peter Rough a senior fellow and the director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Washington-based Hudson Institute announced that though Hungary has enjoyed a competitive advantage over other European states by procuring Russian supplies Clearly President Trump s decision to wield the sanctions hammer against Russian oil has gotten Hungary s attention Budapest has resisted diversifying its strength mix for years despite persistent urging Rough reported The alarm bells must now be ringing in Budapest Budapest summit In October Trump publicized he would meet again with Putin for negotiations on ending the war in Ukraine and that Hungary s capital would provide the venue The decision was seen as a win for Orb n and as an attempt by Trump to provide a political boost for his ally who in April is set to face the preponderance challenging ballot of his last years in power Orb n praised the decision to hold the meeting in Budapest and suggested the choice could be seen as a political achievement But the meeting was soon scuttled with Trump saying he didn t want a wasted meeting with Putin who indicated no signs of backing off his maximalist demands on the war Yet agents in Budapest are still hopeful a Trump-Putin meeting could materialize On Wednesday Hungarian Foreign Minister P ter Szijj rt revealed in a press briefing that high on the agenda for Friday s meeting will be the possibility of making peace in Ukraine If U S -Russian preparatory work is productive Hungary is ready to host a peace summit he declared Hungary a NATO member has refused to supply neighboring Ukraine with weapons or allow their transfer across its borders Orb n has threatened to veto certain EU sanctions against Moscow and held up the bloc s adoption of major funding packages to Kyiv Orb n has often taken an adversarial stance toward Ukraine and its president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and consistently cast as warmongers his European partners that favor assisting Kyiv in its defense Yet Orb n s countless critics in the EU view Hungary s position as favoring the aggressor in the war and splintering European unity in the face of Russian threats With scarce friends in Europe the Hungarian leader is banking on favor from Trump Fried the Atlantic Council fellow stated that after Orb n s heavy assets in Trump s MAGA ecosystem with his meeting on Friday he s going to find out what it s worth Megerian communicated from Washington