Hungary's Magyar seeks one more year of exemption for Russian oil

Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar wants to secure another one-year exemption allowing Hungary to import Russian oil. He said so in an interview with the website 444.hu, held on board a plane on the way back from the EU summit in Brussels.

According to Magyar, the US president can strike any deal he likes, but an agreement on Russian oil supplies matters for Hungary too. “If the American president has concluded a deal on Russian oil supplies, it would be illogical not to grant Hungary this exemption for at least another year,” the head of the Hungarian government said. From Ukraine's point of view, he added, such a deal is clearly unwelcome.

The interview took place before it became known that Donald Trump, citing national interest, had put a new package of sanctions against Russia on hold. The package was meant to increase pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022.

Trump suspended further measures targeting trade in Russian fossil fuels before they were due to take effect. The decision comes as relations between Washington and Kyiv are worsening and European allies are growing concerned about the shift in the US approach to Russia.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz