Hungary Has Many Friends in US, Says Political Director

"Prime Minister Viktor Orban's meeting with former US President and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump proves that Hungary has many friends in the United States," Balazs Orban, the PM's political director, told Kossuth Public Radio (MR1) in an interview on Sunday.

Debrecen, 2023. december 19. Orbán Balázs, a miniszterelnök politikai igazgatója beszédet mond új könyvének, a Huszárvágás - A magyar konnektivitás stratégiája címû kötet bemutatóján, a Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) debreceni oktatási központjában 2023. december 19-én. MTI/Czeglédi Zsolt Fotó: Czeglédi Zsolt

Speaking about the recent talks in the US, Balazs Orban expressed what an honor it was for the Hungarian delegation to be received by the former US President and current Republican Party presidential candidate in his own home, where they were given a very warm welcome. The most important message of the meeting was:  

While Donald Trump was the president of the United States, several parts of the world [...] enjoyed peace.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban and former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump meet at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida March 8, 2024.  Hungarian delegation includes Peter Szijjarto, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Balazs Orban,  PM's Political Director, and Szabolcs Takacs, Hungarian Ambassador to Washington
Photo PM's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer

"Donald Trump pursued a policy under which there was peace in the Middle East and in Ukraine. Ever since he left the office of the presidency, the situation in these areas has unfortunately become dire, with the death-filled war in Ukraine lasting now for more than two years," he noted.

"The Hungarian government's position from the very beginning has been that a ceasefire, negotiations and a diplomatic solution are needed as soon as possible, but "unfortunately the liberal US administration and President Biden think otherwise", he said.

"Of course, the American electorate is free to decide, without external influence, who the next president will be, but we think that

it would be most beneficial for the world, for Europe and for Hungary if Donald Trump returns and achieves peace,

the political director stated.
Negotiations between the US and Russia can put an end to this conflict, with the involvement of the Ukrainians and the Europeans and other third parties as necessary, but it is the US's approach that is ultimately decisive, he explained. 

"Donald Trump in his own campaign rallies also talks about how the United States starts endless wars without having a strategy for how to end these conflicts, and how with the threat of nuclear confrontation growing - which everyone would like to avoid -  the US has to radically change course." 

We share President Trump's view and think that negotiations with the Russians are needed: first agree on a ceasefire, and then in that ceasefire reach a long term settlement of the security relationship between the West, NATO and Russia for many decades to come,

the political director said, 

stressing that this will not be an easy negotiation process, "but the sooner we start, the more lives we can save" and the more the chances of an extremely negative turn on the front line can be avoided.

Balazs Orban also pointed out that the Hungarian government is experiencing "ideological hostility" from the Biden administration, despite Hungary being a good NATO ally as one of the few alliance members that in 2023 and this year is spending well over two percent on defense, and is participating in numerous cooperation projects.
 

Listen to the full interview in Hungarian here:

According to the politician, circles linked to the US Democrats are financing the Hungarian Left, the political opponents of the government.

Clearly, there is a lack of agreement between the current liberal US administration's opinion and that of the Hungarian government and people,

he said, indicating that a change would be welcomed.
It seems that "many in the Republican Party see Hungary as a role model and a key European ally", he said, adding that  

"Europe cannot afford to cut itself off from a former president who is leading in opinion polls seven months before elections. The stakes are simply too high, Hungary in any case cannot afford this luxury." 

Europe has to negotiate with the current and future leaders of the United States, in Balazs Orban's view. In every diplomatic forum Hungary is making every effort to convince participants that this conflict is of no benefit to the Western world and that it could bring a plethora of dangers.
 

Whatever pressure they exert on us, Hungary will not allow itself to be dragged into this war, he stated.
Increasing numbers of Western politicians are speaking out in favor of peace, and are also encouraged by Donald Trump's position on this issue, making the peace-makers' camp grow by the day, he said, noting that this is in the interest of all Hungarians.

  Prime Minister Viktor Orban at a panel discussion on the future of US-Hungary relations held in Washington DC by the Heritage Foundation, the most prominent American conservative think tank, March 7, 2024. Photo: MTI/PM's Press Office/Zoltan Fischer

The day before the meeting with Donald Trump, the delegation took part in a conference and roundtable discussion in Washington DC, organized by the prestigious Heritage Foundation, where they discussed how the conservative policies "tried and tested in Hungary over the past 14 years" could serve as an example for other countries.
This kind of cooperation and mutual attention is extremely widening the scope of Hungarian foreign policy and paving the way for many future joint projects, the political director said, adding that when the Republicans return to the helm, they intend to give a new impetus to Hungary-US relations, to remedy the detrimental policies of the Biden administration in recent years.

Cover photo: Balazs Orban, political director to the prime minister, speaks at the launch of his new book (English edition titled 'Hussar Cut: The Hungarian Strategy for Connectivity'), at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) education center in Debrecen, December 19, 2023 (Photo: MTI/Zsolt Czegledi)