Orban meets Putin in Moscow for energy talk

Budapest: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks at the Kremlin on Friday, a rare step from a European leader as Russia’s almost four-year war rages in Ukraine.

The trip to Moscow is the second since last year for Orban, who is widely considered Putin’s closest partner among all European Union leaders.

In comments to state media before departing for Moscow early Friday, Orban said the focus of his talks with Putin would be Hungary’s continued access to “cheap Russian oil and gas,” resources that have come under sanctions by the US government.

Hungary is one of only a few EU countries to continue importing large quantities of Russian fossil fuels, and has strongly opposed efforts by the bloc to wean its 27 member nations off Russian energy supplies.

Earlier this month, Orban travelled to Washington for a meeting with US President Donald Trump and succeeded in securing an exemption to sanctions the Trump administration placed on Russian energy companies Lukoil and Rosneft.