US lifts sanctions on Hungary’s Russian-backed nuclear project
The United States has lifted sanctions on Hungary’s Paks nuclear expansion project, which is being built with Russian financing and technology — originally the reason for US restrictions under previous sanctions regimes. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó announced the move on Sunday, calling it a significant boost to the country’s energy security and a signal of renewed ties with the Trump administration.
‘Fortunately, since January there is a president in the White House who considers Hungary a friend,’ Szijjártó said, according to a ministry statement. ‘It was in this spirit that the US administration lifted the sanctions related to the Paks nuclear plant project.’
The sanctions relief allows Hungary to proceed with the expansion of the Paks nuclear plant, which Szijjártó said ‘guarantees Hungary’s long-term energy security and maintaining regulated utilities prices.’
The €12 billion Paks II project includes the construction of two Russian-designed VVER-1200 Generation III+ reactors by Rosatom, Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy agency. The reactors are being financed largely through a Russian state loan, with major equipment currently under construction in Russia and France.
‘The production of the large equipment needed for the Paks nuclear power plant is ongoing in Russia and France,’ Szijjártó added, noting that construction efforts can now ‘gain new momentum’ following the US policy shift.
The sanctions that previously hindered the project were imposed under the Biden administration as part of broader measures targeting Russian state-owned entities, including Rosatom, after the invasion of Ukraine. These sanctions limited financial flows and technology exports essential to the Paks II project.
Szijjártó warned that without the project, Hungary would be vulnerable to energy insecurity and steep utility costs. He said that, once completed, the upgraded facility would enable Hungary to produce the majority of its domestic electricity needs by the middle of the next decade.
The Paks nuclear facility is Hungary’s sole nuclear power station and currently supplies close to half the country’s electricity.
Hungary’s continued cooperation with Rosatom has placed it at odds with EU sanctions policy. Hungary and Slovakia have jointly vetoed the EU’s proposed 18th sanctions package, which aims to phase out Russian fossil fuel imports and tighten oversight of civilian nuclear partnerships. Budapest maintains that the Paks project is exempt from such measures and essential to national sovereignty.
The US Embassy in Budapest did not immediately respond to an email for confirmation or comment. An email to the Russian foreign ministry in Moscow also did not receive an immediate response.
