Orbán says new Trump sanctions on Russia are a mistake

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said the US sanctions on major Russian oil-producing companies were a mistake.

Orbán said that he will travel to Washington soon to discuss the sanctions on Russian oil with US President Donald Trump.

"We are thinking about how to build a resilient system for my country's economy because Hungary is very dependent on Russian oil and gas. Without them, energy prices will skyrocket which will lead to shortages of our reserves," Orbán said in an interview with La Repubblica.

When asked whether Trump has "gone too far and made a mistake", the Hungarian prime minister said that, from a Hungarian point of view, the sanctions were indeed a mistake and that his government would therefore seek a way out of the situation, particularly for Hungary.

Trump said that Europe must fully abandon Russian oil and gas. Recently, he has imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia's largest oil companies, and their subsidiaries.

Following those sanctions, Orbán has said that his country is working on finding a way to bypass US sanctions imposed on Russian oil companies.

Matthew Whitaker, US Ambassador to NATO, has stated that Washington expects Hungary to abandon Russian oil and gas.