BUDAPEST, Hungary(National times)- When Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n 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\u2019s dogged commitment to buying Russian oil, a potential test of how deep the affinity goes between the two friendly leaders. Orb\u00e1n, once an outspoken opponent of Russia\u2019s dominance of Hungary during the Cold War, has in the last decade made a dramatic shift toward Moscow that has baffled his opponents and many earlier allies. Widely considered Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2019s most reliable advocate in the European Union, Orb\u00e1n 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\u2019s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches its fourth anniversary, Orb\u00e1n is under increasing pressure from both Brussels and Washington to end Hungary\u2019s reliance on Russian oil, a resource seen as critical for funding Moscow\u2019s war. Last month, the Trump administration levied sanctions on Russian state-affiliated energy giants Lukoil and Rosneft that could expose their foreign buyers \u2014 like India, China and Hungary \u2014 to secondary sanctions. Yet the Hungarian leader hopes his personal relationship with Trump will score him points at Friday\u2019s meeting, the first between the two leaders since Trump retook office in January. In comments to state radio last week, Orb\u00e1n made clear he would try to \u201cmake the Americans understand\u201d that Hungary needs a carve out for its continued purchases of Russian energy. At the heart of Orb\u00e1n\u2019s 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\u00e1n\u2019s arguments may have stuck a chord. In October, he called Orb\u00e1n a \u201cvery great leader,\u201d and said Hungary was \u201csort of stuck\u201d when it came to Russian oil purchases. Trump said Hungary has \u201cone pipeline\u201d \u2014 the Druzhba, which delivers Russian crude through Ukraine and into Central Europe. However, another pipeline, the Adria, which originates at Croatia\u2019s Adriatic coast, also delivers non-Russian crude to Hungary\u2019s main refinery \u2014 a route Orb\u00e1n\u2019s critics and the Croatian oil transport company argue could handle Hungary\u2019s energy needs. Daniel Fried, an Atlantic Council fellow who is a former U.S. ambassador to Poland, dismissed Orb\u00e1n\u2019s complaints that Hungary doesn\u2019t have other options for energy. \u201cDon\u2019t insult everyone\u2019s intelligence,\u201d Fried said, noting that Poland, also in Central Europe, spent years preparing for alternatives. \u201cHungary has done none of this. They\u2019ve whined and complained.\u201d While most EU member states sharply reduced or halted imports of Russian fossil fuels after Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Hungary and neighboring Slovakia have maintained their pipeline deliveries. Hungary has even increased the share of Russian oil in its energy mix from 61% before the war to around 86%, according to a report by independent researchers. Peter Rough, a senior fellow and the director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Washington-based Hudson Institute, said that though Hungary has enjoyed a competitive advantage over other European states by procuring Russian supplies, \u201cClearly, President Trump\u2019s decision to wield the sanctions hammer against Russian oil … has gotten Hungary\u2019s attention.\u201d \u201cBudapest has resisted diversifying its energy mix for years, despite persistent urging,\u201d Rough said. \u201cThe alarm bells must now be ringing in Budapest.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BUDAPEST, Hungary(National times)- When Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n 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\u2019s dogged commitment to buying Russian oil, a potential test of how deep the affinity goes between the two friendly leaders. Orb\u00e1n, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115277,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n