In a blatant display of hypocrisy, the United States exempted Hungary from sanctions for one year over the purchase of Russian oil and gas, as announced by the White House on Friday (7th November). The announcement followed a meeting between United States President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán the same day. Prime Minister Orbán is said to have personally appealed to the US President for the relief during the meeting.
This was the first meeting between Orbán and Trump since the latter swore in as the US President for the second time. Orbán is said to be a favourite of global conservatives and Trump’s MAGA supporters. According to reports, Trump granted the exemption due to Hungary’s challenges in procuring oil and gas because of its geography.
“We’re looking at it, because it’s very different for him to get the oil and gas from other areas. As you know, they don’t have … the advantage of having sea. It’s a great country, it’s a big country, but they don’t have a sea. They don’t have the ports,” Trump was quoted as saying. Both leaders displayed mutual warmth during the meeting as Trump called Orbán a great friend “beloved” in Hungary, and Orbán hoped for a “golden age” in US-Hungary relations.
Interestingly, while Trump made special concessions for Hungary, understanding the country’s unique challenges and requirements, he turned a blind eye to the peculiar circumstances of other countries, such as India, while imposing trade tariffs on them. Trump levied a 50% punitive tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, despite India clearly citing cheap oil prices as the reason for sourcing oil from Russia. Besides, India made it clear that it has been working towards diversifying its energy sources to eliminate dependence on any single region or country.
