Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will meet with US President Donald Trump on November 7 in Washington, „Reuters“ reports, BTA reports.
According to Orban's chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, the aim of the meeting is to discuss the possibility of a US-Russia meeting and to request Hungary's exemption from US energy sanctions.
The two leaders will also sign agreements on cooperation in energy, the defence industry, the economy and finance. “Some have already been agreed, while discussions are ongoing on others,“ Gulyas said.
Orban had previously said he aimed to conclude a broad economic agreement with Washington to offset the impact of US tariffs on the EU. Gulyas added that the talks with Trump could include a plan to broker peace in Ukraine, with the meeting offering an opportunity to set a roadmap for a future US-Russia summit that could lead to a Russian-Ukrainian peace deal.
Earlier this month, Trump announced he would meet with Vladimir Putin in Budapest, but the meeting was postponed after Russia refused to agree to a ceasefire.
Orban also intends to discuss with Trump US sanctions on Russian oil companies “Lukoil” and “Rosneft“, with Gulyas specifying that they do not directly affect oil imports to Hungary, and the country's goal is to obtain an exemption from the measures in order to continue stable supplies of Russian gas and crude oil.
Orban, a long-time Trump ally, envisions a “golden era“ in US-Hungarian relations, and this will be their first bilateral meeting since Trump returned to the White House.