U.S. Readies Anti-Orban Sanctions If Reset Fails, Report Says

The U.S. drew up a list of associates of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban who could be targeted with sanctions, the Wall Street Journal reported, in what would amount to a fallback option if engagement fails to sway the illiberal leader to meet his NATO commitments.

The sanctions threat emerged just a day after President Donald Trump praised Orban as a “tough” and “respected” leader at a White House meeting that capped a turnaround in American policy. The U.S. had focused for almost a decade on isolating the four-term premier over his erosion of democracy and deepening ties with Russia and, more recently, China.