"The relationship between the United States and Hungary is as close today as I can imagine it being, and it's not just close rhetorically, it's close in action, in things that are actually happening," Rubio said.

The secretary of state said it was not not true that Hungary was isolated. Referring to 17 new US investments, Rubio said: "To those who think that Hungary is being isolated, that's an example of the fact that that's not the case."

He said an increasing number of American companies wanted to invest in Hungary, adding they were keen to be "part of what's happening here and are excited about it because you have strong leadership."

Rubio said it was important to understand that "we are entering this golden era of relations between our countries ... because of the relationship that you [Orban] have with the president of the US."

He said President Trump and Orban enjoyed an "exceptionally good personal relationship", adding that if the Orban government encountered difficulties in the future, Trump was ready to provide assistance, including financial assistance.

Rubio said that the nuclear energy cooperation agreement signed with Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on Monday was prepared during Orban's US visit last November. "And there is so many other areas that we can work together on, especially on energy, but just so many areas of common interests," he added.

"President Trump is deeply committed to your success, because your success is our success," Rubio declared.

Rubio said the temporary exemption from US sanctions on Russian energy carriers would help the Hungarian economy to prosper. "Especially as long as you [Orban] are the prime minister and the leader of this country, it is in our national interest that Hungary be successful. It helps America if it helps you."

Regarding the war in Ukraine, Rubio said: "The United States' interest is to see the war end." He added that the US was the only actor that could bring both sides to the negotiating table. "We are the only nation on Earth that apparently can get both sides to the table to talk," he declared.

He noted that technical and military sides held talks last week and would meet in Geneva this week. "I think that's a very positive thing. That said, all we are trying to do is play a role if it's possible in reaching a deal... We think it's a war that's extremely damaging, that's incredibly destructive, we think it's a war that never should have happened and should end as soon as possible."

"The president's invested a tremendous amount of time and political capital into trying to serve a useful purpose," he said, adding: "This war would have never happened if Donald Trump had been president of the US at the time it began."

"If we are successful, the world will be a better place; if we can't [end the war], the dying and the suffering will continue," Rubio said.

The secretary of state thanked Orban for how much he had done to achieve peace. "Your geopolitical role, even ... in the Middle East, is indispensable," he said.

Responding to a journalist's question, Rubio said every nation made decisions according to its own interests, and "if the prime minister of Hungary does not act in the national interest of Hungary, he won't be prime minister for long. But who's going to act in the national interest of Hungary if the prime minister doesn't do it?"

Rubio said "amazing partnerships" could be built when "our national interests" and those of others were in harmony, and this was the case with Hungary.

He also said that Trump would like to visit Hungary, and his current visit showed how important Hungary-US relations were.

Answering a journalist's question, he said Trump would travel to China in April, since it is the world's second largest economy and a nuclear power, and "it would be crazy" if the US and China did not continue maintaining relations with each other.

Szijjarto: Strategic Hungary-US cooperation hinghes on 'friendship of Orban, Trump'

Strategic cooperation between Hungary and the US in its current form is founded on the personal relationship and friendship between Prime Minister Viktor Orban and President Donald Trump, Peter Szijjarto, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said in Budapest on Monday, adding that maintaining that cooperation was in Hungary's national interest.

Speaking after talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Szijjarto told a press conference that this first visit by Rubio since Trump's inauguration last year was further proof of that cooperation.

"The US secretary of state has made it clear that the incumbent US government also has an interest in maintaining the strategic cooperation between Hungary and the US," he said in a ministry statement.

The visit also proved "for all those who doubted it" that that personal friendship had also been at the root of Trump's decision "to agree to Hungary continuing to buy cheap Russian crude oil and gas, so the utility price caps can be preserved," he said.

"It must have become clear for everyone that if the Hungarian prime minister and the US president weren't friends, Hungarians would have to pay three times as much in utility fees and the price of petrol would be at 1,000 forints [EUR 2.6 per litre] in Hungary," he said.

"The US Secretary of State has vowed to continue cooperation. He made it clear that Hungary can count on the US; we shall also carry on with the negotiations on concrete features of financial cooperation," he said.

Further, the two countries have signed an important agreement on nuclear cooperation, Szijjarto noted. "It is in Hungary's absolute interest to expand its nuclear capacities, as that is the only safe, environmentally friendly, cheap and stable way to provide for the growing demand," he said.

"We have made an alliance with the Americans" on the matter, he said.

"New technologies are being developed in nuclear energy, hitherto unknown and unhoped-for technologies. We have now struck an important agreement with the Americans in order to make sure that Hungary benefits from those technologies as swiftly as possible, as some of that tech is being developed in the US," he said.

"Today has shown that the Hungarian-US cooperation is based on a personal relationship. The Americans are ready to maintain it, and this is absolutely in Hungary's interest," Szijjarto said.

Orban: Golden age has dawned in US-Hungary relations

Ties between the United States and Hungary have entered a "golden age", Prime Minister Viktor Orban said at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Budapest on Monday.

After the signing of an intergovernmental agreement on civil nuclear cooperation, Orban said that bilateral ties had never reached such a high level, been more balanced, or been guided by better intentions.

He said that 17 investments by US companies have been announced since January, a number unmatched in a decade. He also hailed a decision by the Trump administration to allow Hungarians to travel to the US without a visa once again, thanking Rubio for this.

Orban noted that Hungary has been invited to join the recently established Board of Peace and said he will represent Hungary at a meeting of the body in Washington, DC later in the week.

Orban highlighted important agreements reached in the area of energy, extending to crude, gas and nuclear. Those agreements, together with an exemption allowing Hungary to use Russian oil and gas, contribute to the country's energy security and keep prices affordable for households and businesses, he added.

The talks, which Orban said were "cordial and serious", also touched upon ways for Hungarian energy company MOL to purchase Serbia's NIS oil refinery.

Meanwhile, Orban said Hungary supports efforts on the part of the United States to reach peace in Ukraine. "The incumbent US president has done the most in international politics for peace in the Russia-Ukraine war... Everyone knows that if Donald Trump had been the president of the United States [at the time], the war would not even have broken out," he said.

Without Trump "we would not even have a chance to end this war with a peace agreement in the foreseeable future; so we express our respects and gratitude to the US president for his efforts made towards peace," Orban said.

The prime minister also expressed Hungary's continued readiness to host a peace summit in Budapest once it was organised, and he confirmed a standing invitation for Trump to visit Hungary.

Answering a question, Orban said "Ukraine and their president have openly been interfering in Hungary's election campaign."

Such "brutally open" interference in another country's election campaign "does not happen all that often", the prime minister said, adding that while the election was of primary importance for Hungarians "it will have an impact outside Hungary".

"The Ukrainians rightfully attribute significance to what kind of government Hungary will have," he said, adding: "The Hungarian people have clearly expressed their refusal to allow Ukraine to enter the European Union." "We are convinced that such a move would drag us into the war and it would destroy our economy," Orban said.

"They also know that we will not give Brussels money to send to Ukraine," the prime minister added.
 

The other option, "which Ukraine would prefer", he said, was a government "seeking or at least consenting" to Ukraine's EU membership. "They want a government that would contribute to Ukraine's finances..." Orban said. "One needs to adapt to the situation and be aware that the Ukrainian president and Ukraine will be an active player in the election," he said. "And we must win, against them, too."

The prime minister suggested he knew "who finances our opponents". He added that Fidesz had won successive elections amid all kinds of circumstances "and we will do so this time, too."

Answering a question about a possible election defeat by his Fidesz party, Orban said he was "Europe's longest serving prime minister", but added that as opposed to his 20 years in government, he had spent 16 years in opposition -- also the longest time a European politician has served in such a position. "Sometimes I win; other times I lose... It's not a question of what happens if we lose; this has happened several times."

Hungary, he added, had a very strong democracy, "and Hungarians have a strong belief in democracy and in political competition."

He said he hoped Fidesz could retain its governmental position, adding that "Hungary will stay strong anyway."

Asked about a possible visit by the US president to Hungary, Orban said: "Americans are very good at giving rapid response." This, he added, was a greater merit in international politics than long-term planning.

 "Having no certain information about the president's Hungary visit does not mean it won't happen... It could mean just the opposite: the less we know about for certain the more likely it will happen," Orban said.

In response to a question on relations between Hungary and China, Orban said that Hungary's NATO membership must be taken into account as a starting point when it came to the country's international relations.

In the area of security issues, this meant that Hungary would only cooperate with other NATO member states, he added.

Orban said that, regarding trade, the government favoured cooperation with as many partners as possible. "And if someone -- any of our partners -- doesn't like our cooperation, they can let us know, and if they do, we will discuss it," he added.

He said his experience with the US was that "it's best to say everything directly and openly." Hungary, he added, played with open cards, and if there was anything the Americans did not like, they would say so.

Ever since the new president took office, Orban said, cooperation with the US had not been sullied by a single point of conflict. This was not the case before, during the Democratic administration, when there were a multitude of conflicts, he added.

Hungarians always said what they wanted and why, what they objected to and why, what they supported and what they requested, the prime minister said, adding that Hungary was a reliable partner because it believed in straight talk, and the current US president belonged to the same school.

There were no taboos, he said, insisting that the two countries were able to talk about anything, including Hungarian-Chinese relations.

At the beginning of the press conference, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed an intergovernmental agreement on civil nuclear cooperation.

Szijjarto: Hungary, US to sign pact on nuclear energy cooperation

Hungary and the United States will sign an agreement on cooperation in the area of nuclear energy, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said on Monday.

Szijjarto said nuclear energy was a way to keep household energy prices affordable in the long term.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Budapest for an official visit late Sunday.
 

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com
 

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