U.S. President Donald Trump granted Hungary an exemption from sanctions on purchases of Russian oil, providing a major win for Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Orban and a U.S. official, who requested anonymity, confirmed Trump’s decision following a meeting between the two leaders Friday at the White House.
Orban has leveraged his ties with his ideological ally to win the favorable treatment. Hungary has ramped up its reliance on Russian energy while fellow European Union members by and large have sought to drastically cut such procurements after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
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