President Donald Trump greets Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the White House on November 7 in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
President Donald Trump announced on Friday a new nuclear energy cooperation deal with Hungary, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, marking the first agreement of its kind between the two nations, Reuters reported.
Péter Szijjártó, Hungary’s foreign minister, said the deal includes plans to buy American nuclear fuel and U.S. technology for storing spent fuel at the country’s Russian-built Paks nuclear power plant.
“We will sign a major intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in nuclear energy with my foreign minister colleague [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio,” Szijjártó said.
The move comes as Hungary seeks to diversify its energy sources while continuing to rely on Russia’s Rosatom, which has been constructing two new reactors at Paks under a 2014 deal that bypassed competitive bidding. Szijjártó said that, for the first time in the nation’s history, Hungary will purchase U.S. nuclear fuel in addition to its existing Russian supply as it works to meet growing domestic energy demands.
Trump is meeting Friday with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán a longtime ally of the president, for their first bilateral talks since Trump returned to the White House in January. The meeting is expected to focus on Hungary’s heavy reliance on Russian oil and efforts to diversify its energy supply.
Widely considered Putin’s most reliable advocate in the European Union (EU), Orbán has maintained warm relations with the Kremlin despite its ongoing war against Ukraine. He has also curried favor with Trump and his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement, which views Hungary as a shining example of conservative nationalism despite the erosion of its democratic institutions.
But now, as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches its fourth anniversary, Orbán is under increasing pressure from Brussels and Washington to end Hungary’s reliance on Russian oil, a resource seen as critical for funding Moscow’s war.
Last month, the Trump administration levied sanctions on Russian state-affiliated energy giants Lukoil and Rosneft that could expose their foreign buyers—like India, China and Hungary—to secondary sanctions.
In comments to state radio last week, Orbán made clear he would try to “make the Americans understand” that Hungary needs a carve out for its continued purchases of Russian energy.
President Donald Trump greets Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the White House on November 7 in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell)
What People Are Saying
Hungary’s Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó wrote on X on Friday morning: “We will sign a significant nuclear cooperation agreement and address that, given our geographic realities, maintaining the ability to purchase energy from Russia without sanctions or legal restrictions is essential for Hungary’s energy security. “Another key topic on the agenda is the war in Ukraine. Since President Trump took office, we have seen extraordinary efforts to bring the parties closer to peace. In Europe, Viktor Orbán has been the only leader who has consistently advocated for peace since the first day of the war. Hungary stands ready to host peace talks once the preparations are complete.”
Peter Rough, a senior fellow and the director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia at the Washington-based Hudson Institute, told The Associated Press: “Clearly, President Trump’s decision to wield the sanctions hammer against Russian oil…has gotten Hungary’s attention. Budapest has resisted diversifying its energy mix for years, despite persistent urging. The alarm bells must now be ringing in Budapest.”
Trump and Orbán are expected to speak to reporters as part of a lunch at the White House Friday afternoon. (Newsweek)