U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Budapest Monday and declared a “golden age” in bilateral relations as Hungary heads toward an April parliamentary election.
In a joint press conference on the final stop of his European tour, Rubio praised a partnership that he said is “as close as I can possibly imagine it being,” stressing President Donald Trump’s “extraordinarily close relationship” with the Hungarian leader and arguing that “your success is our success.”
He added that it is in Washington’s national interest for Hungary to thrive “as long as you’re prime minister,” saying the two countries have “not even scratched the surface of what we can achieve together.”
The warm words were in sharp contrast with Rubio’s message days earlier at the Munich Security Conference, when he urged European leaders to revive the transatlantic alliance.
Rubio stopped short of a formal election endorsement ahead of the April vote. Orbán is trailing his rival Péter Magyar in opinion polls.
Orbán said Hungarian democracy is “very strong” and that the government “will be created after the election in Hungary based on the intention of the Hungarians.”
“Sometimes I lose, sometimes I win,” Orbán said, adding that he is not afraid of defeat even though he hopes to win.
The Hungarian prime minister is also expected to travel to Washington this week for the inaugural meeting of Trump’s Board of Peace.
