Orbán welcomes a "golden age" of relations with the US

Barcelona"I don't recall any time in history when relations between our two countries were so good and friendly." This is how Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán celebrated the positive relationship with the US administration on Monday, welcoming a "golden age" of relations with the United States in front of his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.

After attending the Munich Conference this past weekend—which highlighted the strained state of transatlantic relations—the Trump administration's representative visited Slovakia and Hungary, the two rogue states of the European Union, in a show of support for their populist and conservative leaders. The term "golden age," Rubio said, taking up the mantle from the Hungarian leader, "is no exaggeration." "I couldn't imagine a closer relationship," he added.

The Hungarian prime minister traveled to Washington in November to request an exemption from the sanctions imposed by Washington to punish Moscow's unwillingness to resolve the conflict with Ukraine, for purchasing Russian oil. Trump granted his request. a gesture that rewarded his dissent within the EUNow, the countries have signed a new investment agreement: "For those who think Hungary is isolated, this agreement is a way of telling them that it isn't. There are American companies that want to invest in Europe," especially in countries with "strong leadership," Rubio said. As detailed at a press conference, the agreement includes 17 investments by American companies in Hungary and also "cheap energy." "Donald Trump is committed to your success because your success is our success," Rubio told Orbán personally, after praising "the importance of the relationship between leaders." This positive rapport has also been reflected in Hungarian support for US initiatives such as the Gaza Peace Council: "We appreciate your presence at the Peace Council [of Trump]," Rubio said. "We appreciate the way you are acting geopolitically," and he predicted that they are only at the beginning of what...

Orbán took the opportunity to praise Trump's handling of the conflict in Ukraine, for which, he said, he will continue to support peace efforts: "If Donald Trump had been president of the United States then, this war would not have started, and if he were not president now, there would be no possibility."

Rubio's visit to Budapest comes two months before crucial elections for Orbán: on April 12, Hungarians will vote in parliamentary elections in which, at the moment, the current prime minister is second in the polls, behind the Tisza party, also conservative but clearly pro-European.