BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Hungary has secured an agreement with Washington on a “financial shield” to protect its economy and public finances, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said after talks with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Orban, a long-time Trump ally, met with the president at the White House on Friday to press for a reprieve from U.S. sanctions on Russian oil and gas, securing a one-year exemption.
Hungary had also committed to buying U.S. liquefied natural gas with contracts valued at some $600 million, a White House official said.
“I have also made an agreement with the U.S. President on a financial shield,” Orban told reporters aboard his flight back from the talks in a video published by news website index.hu on Sunday.
“Should there be any external attacks against Hungary or its financial system, the Americans gave their word that in such a case they would defend Hungary’s financial stability.”
In power since 2010, Orban has become an increasingly vocal critic of the European Union, which has suspended billions of euros of funds for Hungary due to the nationalist leader’s rule-of-law reforms.
Orban, who faces what political analysts say could be a closely-fought election next year, did not elaborate on what the agreement with Trump involved. However, he said it meant Hungary would have no financing problems.
“That Hungary or its currency could be attacked, or that the Hungarian budget could be put in difficult situation, or that the Hungarian economy could be suffocated from the financing side, this should be forgotten,” Orban said.
Hungary’s economy has stagnated for the past three years following an inflationary surge after Russia’s 2022 invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, putting pressure on state finances.
However, the forint, which has weakened sharply since Orban took power in 2010, is leading gains among central European currencies this year, bolstered by the EU’s highest benchmark interest rate.
(Reporting by Gergely SzakacsEditing by Bill Berkrot)
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