Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned U.S. President Donald Trump that severing energy ties with Moscow would devastate Hungary’s economy, citing the country’s heavy reliance on Russian oil and gas.
Budapest continues to resist mounting pressure from Brussels and Washington to end its reliance on Russian energy, citing geographic and infrastructural constraints as well, as national security interests. In a recent phone call with Trump, Orban emphasized that cutting off Russian oil and gas would lead to an immediate 4% drop in economic performance, effectively placing the country’s economy on its knees.
Orban stated, “If Hungary is cut off from Russian oil and natural gas, immediately, within a minute, Hungarian economic performance will drop by 4%. It means the Hungarian economy would be on its knees.”
During their phone conversation, Orban noted that Trump had acknowledged his country’s economic concerns. “America has its arguments and interests, Hungary has its own. Our task is to express and represent them clearly. If we are friends, we listen to each other – and then everyone does what they think is right,” Orban explained.
Trump appeared to support Orban’s position, calling him a “great guy” and a “great friend of mine.” He highlighted Hungary’s geographic constraints, pointing out that the country is landlocked and relies heavily on a single pipeline, the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline, which has been under Ukrainian attacks, disrupting supplies to Hungary and Slovakia.
Trump added, “Hungary, you know, they’re landlocked. And they don’t have a nice ocean where ships can sail in from all over the world. You know, they have one pipeline, and Slovakia, too. They’re sort of married to one pipeline. So I just don’t want to have people go blaming them.”
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto reinforced the government’s stance on protecting national interests, following a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Szijjarto criticized Brussels for failing to defend member states’ energy security, stating, “Instead of protecting our energy security, they gave us lectures. And you know this is a scandal, I think,” he said.
Analysts suggest that Hungary’s position reflects a broader geopolitical struggle between Eastern and Western powers, with the country navigating its economic and security interests amidst international pressure to align more closely with Western sanctions against Russia.