Orbán's office announced Biden's "lifting of sanctions" against the expansion of a nuclear power plant by Rosatom

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó stated that the United States has lifted sanctions that had been hindering the expansion of the Paksz nuclear power plant, a project being implemented by the Russian state-owned corporation Rosatom, according to Bloomberg. In reality, Washington has only authorized Russian financial institutions to conduct certain transactions related to previously initiated civilian nuclear energy projects for a period of six months, according to a license issued by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Szijjártó claims that the administration of Donald Trump lifted the sanctions imposed during the time of his predecessor, Joe Biden, and that construction work at the nuclear power plant can now be accelerated.

The project, led by Rosatom, has faced legal problems and significant delays in recent years. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán also frequently clashes with his EU counterparts over his close ties to Russia, which supplies a large portion of Budapest's energy resources.

The Hungarian foreign minister also noted that disputes with the EU regarding oil and gas purchases are likely to continue despite progress in the nuclear sector.

"The manufacture of the main equipment for the Paks nuclear power plant is ongoing in Russia and France. Construction at the Paks site can now proceed at a faster pace," said Szijjártó.

The American side did not comment on this statement. At the same time, on June 27, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department published a new license allowing Russian financial institutions to conduct certain transactions related to civilian energy.

The agency overseeing sanctions has authorized 11 banks to conduct such transactions, including the Central Bank of the Russian Federation and the largest financial institutions in the aggressor country – Sberbank, VTB, Gazprombank, and Alfa-Bank.

This concerns projects in the nuclear industry that were started before November 21, 2024. The license will be valid until December 19, 2025.

It should be noted that the construction and operation of Paks were not subject to European Union restrictions, according to a document from the Council of the EU dated June 2024.

• On June 14, Kazakhstan announced that Rosatom and the state-owned China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) would lead separate consortia to build the first nuclear power plants in the Central Asian country.
• On June 22, the Main Intelligence Directorate reported that Russian state corporations are promoting the Kremlin's political interests in Africa using infrastructure projects – in particular, Rosatom and Russian Railways (RZD).