Hungary Declines to Cease Russian Oil Purchases Despite Trump’s Nato Requirement: Hungary Embraces Energy Independence

Hungary will not give up on the Russian energy supply, according to its foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó. He stated in an interview on the sidelines of the UN general assembly that the country can’t guarantee its energy supply without Russian oil or gas, even though the White House demands Nato allies stop buying Russian oil. The minister understood Trump’s approach but stated that Hungary can only buy from where it has infrastructure. Szijjártó’s remarks came after Trump made new sanctions on Russia conditional on Nato disconnecting itself from the Russian energy supply, and some allies questioned whether he is serious about increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin or passing the buck to Europe. Hungary’s state-owned MOL Group imports about 5m tonnes of oil annually through the Druzhba pipeline, supplying crude oil to refineries in Hungary and Slovakia, which have been most resistant to calls to halt energy imports from Russia. The European Union is considering trade restrictions that could reduce or halt deliveries of oil through the pipeline, but Hungary and Slovakia have so far ignored these calls. European leaders have been pushing the two countries to stop purchasing Russian oil, but without much success. Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, who speaks regularly with Trump, said that Trump is correct in calling for Europe to stop buying Russian oil and gas. Stubb stated that the EU needs to put pressure on Hungary and Slovakia, but the EU does not have the “legal tools” for tariffs. Radosław Sikorski, Poland’s foreign minister, also supported Trump’s call on Europe to stop buying Russian oil and said Hungary can get its oil from the south. Szijjártó called Western European officials “fanatics” and stated that it’s “totally impossible to carry out a fact-based, rational dialogue based on common sense.” However, Szijjártó stated that Hungary’s relationship with the US has improved significantly, saying that Hungary was the “only European government crossing fingers for [Trump’s] victory.”

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/23/hungary-refuses-to-stop-buying-russian-oil-despite-trumps-nato-demand