Szijjártó said no timeframe set for Hungary's exemption from Russian sanctions, but White House told Telex it would be one year

No timeframe was mentioned between US President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as to how long Hungary would be exempt from US sanctions on Russian energy imports. The Prime Minister and the US President shook hands on the exemption, and it is now only a technical matter how the relevant US government agency will put this into writing, Péter Szijjártó, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade said of the two leaders' Washington meeting on Kossuth Rádió's program on Sunday.

The official communication of the Hungarian government on the exemption from the sanctions has so far been that it is for an unlimited period, which is what Viktor Orbán himself also said, stating: "The president said: We will grant you exemption for an indefinite period from the US sanctions that would have affected the Turkish Stream and the Friendship oil pipeline." However, this is not necessarily the same as what Péter Szijjártó has communicated afterwards, moreover, it would seem that only a verbal agreement has been reached, and it remains to be seen how the Americans will put this into practice.

In contrast to the Hungarian government's official communication, and in response to Telex's question, a White House official stated that Donald Trump had exempted Hungary from US sanctions on Russian oil and gas purchases for one year. This was also reported by CNN, but the same was stated by the sources of BBC and Reuters too.

According to MTI (the Hungarian State News Agency), in his radio interview, Péter Szijjártó also said that, in addition to purchasing liquefied natural gas from Russia, Hungary would also be buying it from France, the Netherlands, and the US. In the latter case, negotiations are underway for a five-year contract totaling 2 billion cubic meters, or 400 million cubic meters per year.

With regard to nuclear energy, Orbán agreed with Trump that the sanctions affecting the Paks investment would be lifted and that American fuel rods would also be purchased, as increasing nuclear capacity would require more fuel rods. Szijjártó also spoke about the agreement on small modular nuclear reactors, but said that no decision had yet been made on exactly how many such power plants Hungary would like to have. "If we were to install five or six, it would cost roughly $10 billion, while ten to twelve such power plants could cost as much as $20 billion, so we cannot give a final figure at this point," he said.

When asked where the funds for this would come from, the minister replied that every country must invest in its own energy security. For a country to function, it needs energy; without energy, there is no economic performance, no heating, no hot water, but with energy, there is economic performance, economic growth, new factories, and this economic growth generates the resources that must be used to secure the country's energy supply, he said.

When asked about the amount of Hungary's commitment, the minister replied that the fuel elements which will be purchased from Westinghouse will arrive in Hungary under a contract worth approximately $100 million, while the American technology required for the safe storage of spent fuel rods will cost approximately $200 million. He added that the new fuel elements will arrive in Hungary starting in 2028 and 2029, and in the case of modular reactors, they are calculating with an even more extended timeframe.