Hungary's Orbán says to hold talks on Russian oil and gas supplies on Friday

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said on Thursday that he would

conduct talks on Friday to ensure that Hungary gets enough Russian crude and gas supplies,

which would also allow it to provide crude for neighbouring Serbia.

Orbán did not provide more details and did not specify where these talks would take place, following press reports he would be meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday.

Orbán said Hungary would be "pleased" to take a role in Serbia's NIS but it was up to Serbia to decide about the future of the refinery hit by US sanctions.

He added that

the construction of an oil pipeline between the two countries would be accelerated.

Background

The situation regarding Russia oil: Six days have passed since US sanctions on Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil came into effect, yet Hungary has not yet been officially exempted, contradicting government statements. The relevant decision by the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) came into effect at 06:00 Hungarian time on 21 November.

We have already analysed the ban in detail, but briefly: last Friday, a general 'wind-down' licence expired which only permitted transactions necessary for closing existing deals. Now that the deadline has expired, all financial transactions have essentially been prohibited. This means that, in theory, Hungarian energy group Mol cannot carry out financial transactions with Lukoil or its international trading company, Litasco, from this point on. While OFAC could issue a special licence at any time, this has not yet happened and six days have already passed since the sanctions took effect.

Yesterday, Mol spoke out on the matter, responding to our inquiry with this official statement from the oil company:

Mol has received an exemption from the United States from sanctions on Russian crude oil, effective November 21, 2025. Thanks to this, the company's supply is continuous and stable. All of our contractual and logistical obligations can be fulfilled without disruption.

As for NIS: At a press briefing today, Gergely Gulyás, the Prime Minister's chief of staff, confirmed that Mol is in active negotiations to purchase the Serbian NIS refinery. As the company operating the Pančevo refinery is subject to US sanctions on Russian oil companies, Serbia urgently needs to find a new owner.

The acquisition [of NIS] by Mol could be a solution for Serbia, and the Hungarian government is ready to help conclude such an agreement if necessary,

Bloomberg cited Gulyás as saying.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić's announcement on Tuesday that the NIS refinery could shut down within four days if the US does not ease sanctions underscores the seriousness of the situation.

Source: Reuters