US President Donald Trump will sit down for talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán later today, with the two leaders expected to discuss Hungary's reliance on Russian oil at a time when Mr Trump has been working to wean nations off of it.
Mr Orbán, a long-time ally of Mr Trump, will be meeting the US president for the first time bilaterally since Mr Trump returned to the White House in January.
The two leaders are like-minded in their anti-immigration stances, but a potentially difficult topic involves Hungary's reliance on Russian oil.
Mr Trump has been insisting that European nations stop buying it as a way to dry up Moscow's funding for its invasion of Ukraine.
Hungary has maintained its reliance on Russian energy since the start of the 2022 conflict in Ukraine, prompting criticism from several European Union and NATO allies.
Hungary will sign an agreement on nuclear power cooperation with the United States, including a deal to buy American nuclear fuel and US technology to store spent fuel at a Russian-built nuclear power plant, Hungary's Foreign Minister said.
"We will sign a major intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in nuclear energy with my foreign minister colleague Marco Rubio," Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.
Mr Szijjarto said that Hungary would buy American nuclear fuel for its Russian-built nuclear plant in Paks to fulfil its growing energy needs.
Russia's Rosatom is currently building two new reactors in Paks.
The "Paks II" expansion project, which has been significantly delayed, was awarded in 2014 to Rosatom without a tender.
"In addition to maintaining existing supplier relations, for the first time ever in Hungary's energy history we will also purchase American nuclear fuel," Szijjarto said.
Hungary will also buy American technology that will allow spent nuclear fuel to be safely stored inside the Paks nuclear plant, Szijjarto said in a statement.
'Stakes are high', says Orbán ahead of talks
Hungarian officials said in the run-up to the meeting that Mr Orbán aims to discuss a path to a US-Russia meeting and seek exemptions from US energy sanctions.
Mr Trump said last month that he would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital, but the meeting was put on hold after Russia rejected a ceasefire.
"All diplomatic negotiations are hard, but I expect a friendly and easy negotiation," Mr Orbán told Hungarian state news media ahead of the meeting when asked if he expected tough talks on exemptions from sanctions on Russian oil companies.
State news agency MTI said that on his flight to Washington, Mr Orbán called the topic of energy sanctions "serious" and said that "stakes were high," although he did not expect the talks with Mr Trump on this topic to be difficult.
"I know the president, he knows me, we know the subject, we simply have to reach an agreement," Mr Orbán was quoted as saying by MTI.
The two leaders also plan to discuss ways of greater economic cooperation between the United States and Hungary.
The White House said the leaders would discuss "areas of mutual interest" and hinted some deals could result.
"The American people can expect more good deals out of Prime Minister Orbán's visit spanning various industries," a White House official said.
The Hungarian leader, who faces an election in 2026, has cultivated a strong personal rapport with Mr Trump over the years, although there are tensions over Russian oil as well as Mr Orbán’s pro-China policies.
A tangible sign of improved ties under the Trump administration came last month when the US fully restored Hungary's status in its visa waiver program.
Hungary has pushed back against plans by the European Commission to phase out the EU's imports of all Russian gas and liquefied natural gas by the end of 2027, deepening a rift with Brussels over relations with Moscow.
