Hungarian PM Will Meet Trump In Washington, Asks Not To Be Sanctioned To Buy Crude Oil From Russia

JAKARTA - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will meet US President Donald Trump on November 7 in Washington.

Orban will reportedly discuss the road to the US-Russian meeting and seek exemption from US energy sanctions.

Orban's chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, said that at a press conference, the two leaders would also agree on cooperation in the fields of energy, defense, economic and financial industries.

"Some of them have been negotiated, while in other cases, discussions are still ongoing," he said.

Orban previously said he intended to sign a broad economic agreement with Washington to offset the impact of the US tariff on the European Union.

Gulyas said Orban and Trump could discuss plans to seek a US-Russian meeting aimed at mediating peace in Ukraine.

"This meeting also offers the two heads of state the opportunity to determine a roadmap that could lead to US-Russia gatherings and, through that, lead to the Russia-Ukraine peace agreement," Gulyas said.

Trump had previously said he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital. However, the meeting was postponed after Russia rejected the ceasefire.

While Orban once said he would discuss US sanctions against Russian oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, with Trump at a planned meeting.

Gulyas said this sanction had no direct impact on Hungarian oil imports, and Hungary's goal was to maintain it and seek exemption from the sanctions.

"Our goal is for Hungary to get exemptions from US sanctions so that Russian gas and crude purchases can continue stably," Gulyas said.

Orban, Trump's longtime ally, envisions a "golden era" in the US-Hungary relationship under Trump's presidency. He will meet with the US president for the first time bilaterally since Trump returned to the White House.