TRUMP SAID “NO” TO ORBAN: Refused to allow Hungary to buy Russian oil!

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban asked the United States (U.S.) for an exemption from sanctions over the purchase of Russian oil, but that the U.S. did not approve it.

“He asked for an exemption. We didn’t grant it, but yes, Viktor, my friend, did ask for an exemption,” Trump told reporters aboard the presidential plane Air Force One.

CNN previously reported that the two leaders would meet next week, only a few weeks after a planned meeting in Budapest between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was canceled.

Last week, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia for the first time during Trump’s second term, targeting Russian oil companies.

Orban said that he had spoken with the Hungarian oil and gas company about the issue and that Hungary was working on a way to “bypass” the U.S. sanctions.

The Hungarian Prime Minister also said that he planned to ask U.S. President Donald Trump to exempt Hungary from the new American sanctions imposed on Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil. According to him, Hungary’s energy dependence and lack of access to the sea make it extremely vulnerable.

The U.S. sanctions came only a few days after a fire broke out at the main refinery on the Danube owned by the Hungarian oil group MOL, forcing the facility to operate at reduced capacity and further jeopardizing the already fragile fuel situation in Hungary.

Orban also referred to the case of Germany, which previously secured an exemption from U.S. sanctions for German assets of Rosneft, which holds a controlling stake in the Schwedt refinery.

Reuters reported that Washington granted the exemption because that refinery is no longer under Russian control.