US lifting sanctions on key aide to Hungary's Orban

By Daphne Psaledakis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is removing sanctions on a close aide of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the State Department said on Tuesday, adding that the punitive measures were inconsistent with U.S. foreign policy interests.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on Tuesday with his Hungarian counterpart, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, and informed him of the move, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.

"The Secretary informed Foreign Minister Szijjarto of senior Hungarian official Antal Rogan’s removal from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, noting that continued designation was inconsistent with U.S. foreign policy interests," Bruce said.

The two also discussed strengthening U.S.-Hungary alignment on critical issues and opportunities for economic cooperation, Bruce said.

Orban and his Fidesz party have been among U.S. President Donald Trump's most vocal supporters in Europe.

Former President Joe Biden's administration before leaving office imposed sanctions on Rogan on January 7 over alleged corruption, in a move that Budapest pledged to challenge once Trump returned to the White House on January 20.

Rogan is a close aide of Orban who has run his cabinet office since 2015.

"Throughout his tenure as a government official, Rogan has orchestrated Hungary’s system for distributing public contracts and resources to cronies loyal to himself and the Fidesz political party," the U.S. Treasury Department under Biden said in January.

Accusations of corruption and cronyism have dogged Orban since he came to power in 2010, while Budapest's relations with Washington became increasingly strained during Biden's presidency, due in part to Budapest's warm ties with Moscow despite the war in Ukraine.

Orban has repeatedly denied allegations of corruption.

Rogan has been close to Orban for decades, running his government's media machine and helping orchestrate his election campaigns.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis in Washington; Additional reporting by Gergely Szakacs in Budapest; Editing by Matthew Lewis)