Orban hails 'new chapter' in US-Hungary relations at White House visit

WASHINGTON

Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Friday Hungary and the US are entering what he called a “golden age” of bilateral relations under President Donald Trump.

"The reason why we are here is to open a new chapter between the ... United States and Hungary," Orban told reporters at the White House alongside Trump.

Orban claimed that during previous Biden administration, "everything was ruined."

Addressing Trump directly, he said: "You restored the old level of the relationship. You improved the bilateral relations. You repaired what was done badly by the previous administration. So now, we are in quite a good position to open up a new chapter, let's say a golden age, between United States and Hungary."

Orban said he would discuss with Trump "how we can contribute to help you in your peace effort" to end the Russia-Ukraine war.

He said another focus of negotiations would relate to the "consequences for the Hungarian people and for the Hungarian economy not to get oil and gas from Russia."

"We are supplied by pipelines. Pipelines are not an ideological political issue. It's a physical reality, because we don't have ports, exactly as the president explained to you. So we will negotiate on that point. It's vital for us," Orban said.

The prime minister said 90% of Hungarian households use gas-based heating. "We have only one pipeline delivering gas to Hungary, which is the main pipeline, the Turkish one," he added.

Turning to the ongoing Ukraine war, Orban said the US and Hungary had a different approach to the war than other European nations and the EU.

"The only pro-peace governments are the United States government and small Hungary in Europe. Anyway, all the other governments prefer to continue the war, because many of them think that Ukraine can win on the front line, which is a misunderstanding of the situation," Orban said.

Trump asked Orban: "So, you would say that Ukraine cannot win that war?"

"You know, miracle can happen," Orban replied.

Trump continued, grinning: "Yeah, that's right."