After Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on November 7, Budapest announced that Hungary had secured an “indefinite waiver” from U.S. sanctions on Russian oil imports. The claim, made by Hungary’s foreign minister, immediately caused confusion. A White House official later told Reuters that the waiver would last only one year, not indefinitely. Hungary, a NATO member heavily dependent on Russian energy through the TurkStream and Druzhba pipelines, also agreed to purchase U.S. LNG worth around $600 million. Officials in Budapest argued that the exemption was essential to keep energy prices stable and protect the national economy. The controversy highlights Orbán’s delicate balancing act between Moscow, Washington, and Brussels. It also exposes growing divisions within NATO and the EU, where critics view Hungary’s ongoing cooperation with Russia as a challenge to the West’s united front on sanctions.