Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Donald Trump, who is set to become the Republican nominee for the general U.S. presidential election, during his trip to the U.S. on March 8, and supported Trump’s presidential bid.
Orban, an ally of former U.S. President Trump, has a long-standing relationship with conservatives in the U.S. and is the only European leader who is openly friendly toward the Kremlin. Trump has also spoken highly of the Hungarian prime minister on several occasions since leaving the White House.
The two met at Trump’s official residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, and discussed "a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation," according to a statement from Trump’s campaign.
Following the meeting, Orban urged Trump to "come back and bring us peace" in his post on X (formerly Twitter). Orban previously said that only the return of Trump to the White House could bring peace to Ukraine, which has been fighting off Russia’s full-scale invasion for over two years.
"It was a pleasure to visit President Donald Trump today. We need leaders in the world who are respected and can bring peace. He is one of them!," reads Orban’s post.
Timothy Ash
Trump has long criticized U.S. aid to Ukraine, a position in line with his "America First" foreign policy views. He has claimed that he would be able to negotiate peace in Ukraine within 24 hours, although he did not elaborate on concrete steps to achieve this.
Trump's sway over the Republican party has contributed to the continuing deadlock in Congress over U.S. aid to Ukraine. The Senate passed a funding bill containing $60 billion in aid for Ukraine earlier in February, but House Speaker Mike Johnson has so far declined to bring it to a vote.
Orban also claimed in a video on his Facebook page, as cited by Reuters, that under Trump’s presidency in 2017-2021, there was peace in the Middle East and Ukraine, adding there would not be a war in Ukraine if Trump had been re-elected in 2020.
Russia’s war against Ukraine began in 2014 with the illegal annexation of Crimea and the invasion of the Donbas region, followed by a full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
Hungary and Ukraine have had a contentious relationship that has worsened since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion. Orban has maintained close ties with Russia, bucking the united front that the EU has tried to present in support of Ukraine.
Hungary has repeatedly opposed Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the European Union and blocked the EU's financial support for Ukraine. Orban previously said that Ukraine is a financially "non-existent" and "no longer sovereign" state due to its "dependence" on international support.
