The White House argued with Orban over permission to import oil from Russia.

Hungary insists it has received an indefinite exemption from US sanctions on Russian oil , but the White House says the exemption is only valid for one year, reportsREUTERS .

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a longtime ally of US President Donald Trump, met with him at the White House on Friday to seek a deferment of sanctions against Russia. Following the talks, Orbán announced that Washington had granted Budapest an "indefinite" exemption for Russian energy supplies via the TurkStream and Druzhba pipelines. The prime minister's words were later confirmed by Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó. "There will be no sanctions on oil and gas supplies to Hungary for an indefinite period," he stated.

However, a White House official told Reuters that the deferment is valid for one year. The official added that Hungary is also diversifying its energy purchases and has committed to purchasing approximately $600 million in liquefied natural gas from the United States.

According to the International Monetary Fund ( IMF ), Hungary purchased 74% of its gas and 86% of its oil from Russia in 2024. A disruption to supplies could cost the country more than 4% of its GDP.

Orbán, en route from the US to Hungary, told reporters that he had reached a "financial shield" agreement with Trump. He said it would help protect the Hungarian economy from adverse factors, such as currency attacks or sovereign credit rating downgrades, and reduce dependence on the EU , which has suspended over $20 billion in funding to Budapest, citing corruption and rule of law issues.

"If Hungary's financial system is attacked from outside, the Americans have promised to protect Hungary's financial stability," the prime minister asserted. "Forget about attacking the Hungarian currency, its budget, or financially strangling Hungary. We've resolved this issue with the United States," he assured.

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