Headwinds to imports of Russian oil are intensifying

HUNGARY - In Brief 24 Sep 2025 by Istvan Racz

---

Following the obvious failure of his Alaska initiative, President Trump has decided to move to Ukraine's side most recently. On different occasions and through various means, including his own social media platform, his energy minister, and also talking at a press conference at the UN general assembly in New York the other day, he said that after all, Ukraine could eventually get back its whole original territory, NATO countries could just shoot down the Russian drones flying into their airspace, and NATO countries should ALL stop buying Russian oil, in addition to imposing secondary tariffs on those countries which still do so, most notably India and China. Asked specifically about the details, Mr. Trump and the US Energy Minister both said clearly that yes, this refers to Hungary as well. Sitting next to President Zelenskyy in New York, Mr. Trump added that he had not talked to PM Orbán (who 'is my friend') on Hungary's Russian oil imports, but he thought Mr. Orbán would stop buying Russian oil if he (Mr. Trump) eventually called him on the matter. Meanwhile, the EU is moving in the same direction, even if not exactly the same way as Mr. Trump's current proposals go. A few days ago, the EU Commission announced their proposal on the 19th sanction package against Russia, which now awaits endorsement from the European Council and the European Parliament within a month or so. In this one, the EU would bring forward the introduction of a complete ban on the purchase of Russian LNG by one year, to January 1, 2027, put a further 100+ ships of the Russian shadow fleet on their sanction list, and also place additional Russian companies, including Rosneft and Gazpromneft under...