On the evening of April 12, the team of Viktor Orbán (and the prime minister himself, presumably) breathed a sigh of relief when they learned about the US government's decision.

The Hungarian capital expected much more serious "punishment" from Washington, and the US Ambassador to Hungary, David Pressman, did everything possible to make such expectations possible. The Orbán's team understands that their actions have long deserved an even tougher attitude towards themselves.

However, according to an article by Dmytro Tuzhansky, the director of the Institute of Central European Strategy, hardly anyone thinks that this is the end of the story. One Step Away from Sanctions Against Orbán: How New US Restrictions Became a Signal for Hungary (Ukr).

The US imposed sanctions on a bank established by Russia in Budapest, which operated with the permission and participation of the Hungarian government. A Hungarian diplomat "assigned" to this bank by Hungary also found himself under sanctions.

Information that the US may and plan to impose sanctions against Hungary was reported by sources of pro-Western Hungarian media when the Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó had already scheduled a week. And these plans were very specific.

Szijjártó devoted this week to friendship with an aggressor state or its friends. On the Tuesday after Easter, he flew to Moscow to sign new energy agreements. On Wednesday (the day when sanctions were announced), he returned to participate in the Belarusian-Hungarian intergovernmental commission with Sergei Aleynikov, the chief diplomat of self-proclaimed President Lukashenko.

Now, when the Russian Federation is waging an aggressive war backed by Belarus, the largest in Europe since World War II, such a schedule would suit Iranian officials rather than a minister of an EU and NATO member state.

The Hungarian government also has excellent relations with Iran. In November 2022, Peter Szijjártó even received the Iranian Minister of Economy, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, in Budapest.

However, there is no connection between Szijjártó's recent meetings and the imposing sanctions. The US decision is rather the result of a cumulative effect.

The current US sanctions are similar to those Washington introduced in 2014 against six Hungarian citizens, banning them from entering the country due to corruption.

Another similarity is that, like then, the current US sanctions are a signal. In 2014, it was a "hello" to the Hungarian government from the Obama administration with Joe Biden as Vice President and in charge of European policy.

Now, in 2023, it comes from the administration of President Biden.

But there is a crucial difference between the US actions in 2014 and 2023. If nine years ago, after Washington's decision, Viktor Orbán launched anti-American accusations and speculations, immediately burning bridges to strengthen his power, now it seems that Budapest wants to use all the chances to avoid worsening the situation.

The following day the sanctions were imposed, the government announced that Hungary had withdrawn from the International Investment Bank as if following friendly advice from Washington. And there are no signs of anti-American hysteria from the Hungarian government propaganda.

On the contrary, this week, the Hungarian government is trying to show its flexibility on issues important to the US. For example, the leader of the parliamentary faction "Fidesz," Mate Kocsis, unexpectedly announced that Hungary could lift the blockade on ratifying Sweden's NATO accession (Ukr) this spring.

The sanctions imposed at this stage have not caused real financial damage to the Hungarian Prime Minister and his entourage. Hungary has also not been affected.

However, it seems like it's just starting. In his address to the nation in February, Viktor Orbán juggled the surname of the current US Ambassador to Hungary, saying "Pressman" comes from "press," meaning "pressure," and that they should not send anyone with the surname "Puccini," from the word "putsch," to Hungary.

But Budapest's reaction has showed that the Hungarian government is, in fact, seriously worried and ready to give in under pressure until Orbán's joke materialises at the next stage.

After all, the sanctions "game" is not over yet and the Hungarian authorities understand this.

Last week, the Hungarian Radio Liberty and the Guardian wrote that a group of congressmen from the Republican and Democratic parties of the USA is preparing a bill on sanctions against leading Hungarian political figures associated with Viktor Orbán's government (Ukr). 

And this is much more serious than the little-known Hungarian diplomat.