Hungary's PM Orban meets with Trump, Musk, says 'future has begun'
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his ally, businessman Elon Musk, in Florida on Dec. 9, according to a post on X.
"The future has begun — an afternoon in Mar-a-Lago," the prime minister wrote alongside pictures showing him in discussion with Trump and Musk. Trump's incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, is also tagged in the X post but does not appear in photos.
Hungary's prime minister was the first to endorse Trump’s first presidential candidacy in 2016 and repeatedly expressed a desire for his return after the U.S. businessman-turned-politician lost the 2020 election, claiming to "open a bottle of champagne" if Trump wins this year's vote.
Trump is expected to bring a different approach to the Russia-Ukraine war after he takes office in January 2025. He promised to end the war in 24 hours during his campaign and hinted at reducing U.S. aid to Ukraine to force it to the negotiating table.
Orban held several meetings with Trump earlier this year, claiming that the U.S. president-elect would cut support to Ukraine and force its leadership to peace talks.
The role that Orban may play in Trump's strategy remains unclear. The Hungarian prime minister has maintained warm ties with Moscow throughout the full-scale war, refused to send military aid to Ukraine, and vocally criticized EU sanctions against Russia, approving joint sanctions packages only after long obstructions.
Orban traveled to Moscow to visit Russian President Vladimir Putin after taking the helm of the EU’s presidency in July on a so-called "peace mission," breaking Putin's Western-imposed isolation.
That mission also saw him visit Kyiv for the first time and Beijing, ending his global tour with a meeting with Trump in Florida.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that, according to undisclosed sources, Trump held multiple phone conversations with Orban since the former's reelection on Nov. 5, discussing strategies to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
Olena Goncharova
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