Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to discuss continued access to Russian oil and gas, as well as ongoing efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
“The foundation of Hungary’s energy security has been and continues to be Russian energy supplies. We highly value the reliability and predictability of these deliveries,” Orbán told Putin at the start of the talks, according to a Kremlin readout.
Orbán, a longtime ally of Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, arrived in Moscow nearly a month after visiting the United States to secure a one-year exemption from U.S. sanctions against Russian energy giants Lukoil and Rosneft.
Ahead of his trip to Moscow on Friday, Orbán told state media that Hungary pays the lowest energy prices in Europe thanks to its access to Russian gas and oil, which he called “cheap relative to international price levels.”
“This is why I am going to Russia today: to make sure Hungary’s energy supply remains secure and affordable this winter and in the year ahead,” he wrote in an English-language post on X.
At the Kremlin, Putin commended Orbán for what he described as a “pragmatic approach” to Russian-Hungarian relations.
“Our cooperation in the field of energy is very strong. There are, however, issues and challenges that require our discussion,” the Russian president said.
Hungary still depends heavily on Russian oil and gas imports despite Western sanctions. Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the EU has sought to wean itself off Russian energy, though countries like France, Spain and Belgium continue to import large amounts of liquified natural gas from Russia.
Meanwhile, Budapest was set to host a planned U.S.-Russia summit on the Ukraine war, but Trump later called off the meeting before a specific date could be set.
Orbán told Putin on Friday that he hopes U.S.-backed efforts to draft a Ukraine peace plan will succeed and reiterated his readiness to provide a platform for peace talks.
“I would also be very pleased if Budapest is used as a venue during our negotiations,” Putin said, praising what he called the Hungarian leader’s “measured” position on the war.
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