The US president said he would consider an opt-out for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close Trump ally who has maintained good relations with Russia throughout the Ukraine war. Speaking on Friday during Orban's visit to the White House, Trump said an exemption was under consideration because "it's very difficult for him [Orban] to get the oil and gas from other areas". It comes after the US effectively blacklisted two of Russia's largest oil companies last month, threatening sanctions on those who buy from them.

Following the meeting, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó wrote on X that the US had given Budapest "a full and unlimited exemption from sanctions on oil and gas". An official later told the BBC that that exemption was time-limited to one year. This decision by Trump marks a major victory for Orban, who had said the sanctions would ruin his country's economy. During the public part of the meeting, Trump sounded sympathetic to Hungary's position as a landlocked country, dependent on oil and gas from Russia, but stopped short of giving a specific guarantee. But subsequently it became clear that the US president had granted an exemption for one year - seemingly flying in the face of his determination just two weeks ago to penalise anyone who did business with Russia's energy companies.

Hungary has agreed to buy several hundred millions of dollars of US natural gas as part of the arrangement, but it is a deal likely to go down badly in many European capitals, most of whom have long opposed Hungary's friendly stance towards Moscow. Orban has long been a close personal and political ally of the president, echoing much of Donald Trump's populist right wing rhetoric over immigration and social issues. That loyalty seems to have earned the Hungarian prime minister some special treatment at a time when he is facing difficult elections in the spring. (BBC)