US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to Hungary and Slovakia next week after President Donald Trump publicly endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is trailing in the polls ahead of the April election, the State Department said.
Rubio will travel to Hungary and Slovakia, also led by a right-wing Trump ally, after addressing the Munich Security Conference, where Vice President JD Vance criticized the European Union last year, writes AFP.
The trip comes as tensions rise again between the United States and the European Union after Trump considered the idea of taking Greenland from Denmark.
– In Budapest, Rubio will meet with key Hungarian officials to strengthen our shared bilateral and regional interests, including our commitment to peace processes to resolve global conflicts and the US-Hungary energy partnership – said State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott.
Orbán is a rare EU leader who enjoys a relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has often resisted EU initiatives to support Ukraine.
Orbán planned a summit between Trump and Putin last year, but it was canceled when US officials became convinced that Russia was not ready to compromise on Ukraine.
Last week, Trump endorsed Orbán in a social media post, calling the EU’s longest-serving national leader “a true friend, fighter and winner.”
Orbán has become a hero to many Trump supporters for his hostile stance on migration during the Syrian refugee crisis a decade ago.
When Orbán visited the White House last year, Trump exempted Hungary from sanctions on Russian oil and gas imports.
Former President Joe Biden had a much less friendly relationship with Orbán, whom he accused of “seeking a dictatorship” by, among other things, stifling independent media and campaigning against LGBTQ rights.
On Sunday, Rubio will travel to Slovakia, where Prime Minister Robert Fico also found common ground with Trump.
Fico’s recent visit to Trump in Florida sparked a firestorm when Politico, citing unnamed European diplomats, said Fico expressed concern about Trump’s mental state. Both countries denied the report.
Rubio, who is often seen as the more moderate face of the Trump administration, will represent the United States in Munich this year instead of Vance.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
