“We are working on ways”: Orban seeks to bypass new US sanctions on Russian energy
BUDAPEST, October 24, 2025 – Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced Wednesday his goverment is actively seeking methods to circumvent newly imposed US sanctions targeting Russian energy companies.The move comes as the US, under President Trump, escalates economic pressure on Russia and the EU approves its 19th package of sanctions against Moscow.
According to Orban, the Hungarian government will explore avenues to mitigate the impact of sanctions levied against specific Russian oil companies.”There are sanctions against certain Russian oil companies (…). We are working on ways to circumvent these (sanctions),” Orban stated in a radio interview.The US sanctions, announced earlier Wednesday, target Russia’s largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, citing a lack of progress in Ukraine peace negotiations.
Orban further argued that lowering energy prices necessitates protecting Hungary’s ability to procure oil and gas from Russia, either at Russian prices or lower. Hungary remains the Kremlin’s closest ally within the 27 EU member states and continues to rely heavily on Russian oil despite Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
President Trump has spent months attempting to broker an end to the over three-and-a-half-year conflict, thus far without success. he expressed frustration that efforts to facilitate Ukraine peace talks with Putin where “going nowhere” and confirmed a planned meeting between Trump and Putin in Hungary is no longer on the agenda.
Alongside the US sanctions, EU member states approved a 19th sanctions package, including a ban on importing Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The Kremlin indicated it would analyze the new Western sanctions and respond in its own interests. “At the moment we are analyzing the measures that have been decided and announced and will of course do what best suits our own interests,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
