Hungary FM: Sanctions Exemption in Force as Long as Viktor Orban and Donald Trump Are in Office

Hungary’s exemption from U.S. sanctions will remain in force for as long as Viktor Orban is the Prime Minister and Donald Trump is the President are in office, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Thursday in Sofia. He emphasized that the two leaders shook hands on the deal last week, and that putting it in writing is now merely a technical formality.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and U.S. President Donald Trump (photo: MTI)

If Prime Minister Orban had not reached an agreement in Washington last week — if Hungary had not secured an exemption for natural gas and crude oil purchases — energy prices in Hungary would have tripled by Christmas, FM Szijjarto warned. “The Prime Minister and President Donald Trump agreed that Hungary will be exempt from U.S. sanctions on purchasing oil and natural gas from Russia. That is what matters,” he said.

FM Peter Szijjarto: Exemption from US sanctions will remain in effect as long as Viktor Orban is Prime Minister (Photo: AFP)

The President and the Prime Minister shook hands on this agreement, and it remains in effect as long as Donald Trump is president of the United States and Viktor Orban is prime minister of Hungary,

Szijjarto added.

According to the Foreign Minister, 

The key point is that a deal was reached. And this agreement enable us to preserve the utility cost reductions in Hungary. The President and the Prime Minister shook hands on it — that is what counts. Putting it into writing is a bureaucratic matter, and the technical discussions on that are still ongoing,

he said.

Cover photo: Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and U.S. President Donald Trump (MTI)