Hungary says it is looking to circumvent US sanctions on Russian oil and gas companies

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday said his government was working on ways to circumvent President Donald Trump's newest sanctions on Russian oil and gas companies.

The United States Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed harsh sanctions on Russia's Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company and Lukoil OAO, which could force Russia to close down its remaining oil pipelines to Europe.

Orban said he has been meeting with executives of Hungary's energy company, MOL, in order to get around the Russian sanctions. Hungary receives most of its oil and gas supplies from Russia because it is a landlocked country, per Politico.

“There are indeed sanctions in place against certain Russian oil companies,” he told the radio program "Good Morning Hungary." “I started the week by consulting with MOL executives several times, and we are working on how to circumvent these sanctions. Anyone who wants utility price reductions must defend Hungary's right to buy oil and gas from Russia."

Slovakia could also be drastically impacted by the new sanctions because it also gets the majority of its gas and oil supplies from Russia. But Croatia has said that it could help the two European countries with the supplies.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.