MOSCOW, November 8. /TASS/. Hungary has secured the lowest energy prices in Europe by freeing itself from sanctions on Russian oil, special presidential envoy and Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) CEO Kirill Dmitriev said.
"[Prime Minister] Viktor Orban protects Hungary with exemption on Russian oil sanctions — delivering Europe’s lowest energy prices to Hungarians," he wrote in English on his X page, commenting on the Hungarian prime minister's post about the deal with the US.
Earlier, Orban said after talks with US President Donald Trump at the White House that Budapest had received a complete exemption from Washington from US sanctions that had been hindering oil and gas supplies from Russia.
Reuters also reported, citing a US administration official, that the US had granted Hungary an exemption from the sanctions regime, allowing it to purchase Russian energy resources for a year.
On October 22, the US Treasury Department included Rosneft and Lukoil, along with their subsidiaries, in a new package of anti-Russian sanctions, which will take full effect on November 21. The US believes that the restrictions should put pressure on Moscow in connection with the conflict in Ukraine. However, the Hungarian government has noted that these new sanctions could harm the country's interests, as it still receives most of its energy supplies from Russia under long-term contracts.