Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has landed in the US for his latest meeting with President Donald Trump.
Orbán, one of Trump’s closest allies in Europe, described the trip as an attempt to “open a new chapter in Hungarian-American relations”.
According to the Hungarian PM, the proposed partnership would cover “energy co-operation, investments, defence collaboration and discussions on the post-war landscape following the Russia–Ukraine conflict”.
“The first 10 months of this year marked the initial phase,” Orbán said, boasting of improved ties since Trump’s return to power.
“We repaired the damage Hungary and Hungarian-American relations suffered under [former president Joe] Biden administration.
“The politically motivated sanctions have disappeared, American funding for NGOs attacking Hungary has ended, and we can once again travel to the United States without a visa,” Orbán said.
Still, one issue threatens to complicate today’s meeting: Hungary’s dependence on Russian oil.
Trump has been urging European nations to cut off energy imports from Moscow but Orbán has long resisted that.
In a recent interview with state radio, he admitted that his top priority in Washington would be convincing the US to carve out an exemption for Hungary from Washington’s sanctions on Russian energy.
“We have to make the Americans understand this strange situation if we want exceptions to the American sanctions that are hitting Russia,” Orbán said.
Ahead of his meeting with Trump, the PM told Hungarian State media: “All diplomatic negotiations are hard but I expect a friendly and easy negotiation.”
US President Donald Trump says he may call his “friend” Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to make him stop importing Russian energy. https://t.co/SnEY9gchEo
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 24, 2025
