US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s leadership as ‘essential’ to American interests while confirming that President Trump’s administration will provide a financial protective shield for Hungary during a joint press conference with the prime minister in Budapest, Hungary, on 16 February.
Rubio hailed a ‘golden era of relations’ between the United States and Hungary, endorsing Orbán ahead of the upcoming closely watched parliamentary elections in April. ‘President Trump is deeply committed to your success,’ Rubio continued, adding that Washington’s national interest is for Hungary to thrive ‘as long as you’re prime minister’, and that the two countries have ‘not even scratched the surface of what we can achieve together’.
Rubio Delivers Clear Political Message
Rubio arrived in Hungary on Sunday, 15 February, after visiting Bratislava and delivering remarks at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend. Behind the clear political message, the secretary of state’s visit also produced concrete strategic outcomes, most notably the signing of a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement designed to deepen long-term US–Hungarian energy ties and expand partnership in advanced technologies. It is also part of efforts to decrease the landlocked Central European country’s dependence on Russian energy sources.
The US secretary of state reaffirmed that exemptions from American sanctions on Russian oil imports remain in place as long as Orbán is in government, and pledged that Washington would take steps if Hungary faced financial or economic challenges due to external pressure.
These developments follow a previous meeting between Orbán and Trump in November 2025 and have since been viewed sceptically by Western and Hungarian media. The financial shield mentioned by Rubio most likely refers to a currency swap agreement between the two countries, similar to the arrangement provided to Argentina ahead of a crucial election for President Javier Milei and his party.
During the press conference, Rubio also defended Hungary’s sovereignist, multi-vector foreign policy, including deepening economic and trade engagement with China, stating that Washington is ‘not asking any country in the world to isolate themselves from anybody’. ‘We understand that every country in the world has to deal with the reality of their geography, of their economy, of their history, and of the challenges of their future,’ he added.
Speaking about peace talks to end the war in Ukraine, Rubio argued that Washington is uniquely positioned to mediate an agreement between Kyiv and Moscow, describing the United States as the ‘only nation on earth’ capable of bringing the two parties to the table.
Orbán Welcomes the Golden Age
For his part, Orbán began by declaring that relations between Hungary and the United States have ‘never been as high-level, balanced and guided by goodwill’ as they are now. He highlighted tangible outcomes of the renewed partnership, noting that since January of the previous year, decisions had been made on seventeen American investments in Hungary—an unprecedented record—while Hungarians can once again travel to the United States without visas. He also confirmed that Hungary had been invited to join the recently established Board of Peace in Washington, where he will personally represent the country.
Orbán further stressed that key agreements had been concluded in the energy sector—covering oil, gas, and nuclear cooperation—and that, together with Hungary’s exemption allowing continued use of Russian oil and gas, these arrangements ensure a secure national energy supply and enable the country to provide households and industry with ‘extremely cheap energy in international comparison’.
The prime minister also reaffirmed Hungary’s support for US peace efforts, stating that ‘if Donald Trump had been the president of the United States this war wouldn’t have broken out’, and that without Trump’s current leadership ‘we would not even stand a chance to put an end to the war with peace’. He confirmed that Hungary remains ready to host a peace summit in Budapest and said that Trump holds a standing invitation to visit Hungary in the near future.
Addressing the upcoming parliamentary election, Orbán said that Ukraine is openly interfering in Hungary’s election campaign, arguing that Kyiv seeks a government in Budapest willing to support Ukraine’s European Union accession and financial and military support. At the same time, he emphasized the strength of Hungarian democracy, insisting that the country’s next government will ultimately be formed ‘based on the intention of the Hungarian people’, rejecting opposition claims that he would cling to power in the event of a potential electoral defeat.
Orbán concluded that the absence of current conflicts in US–Hungarian relations demonstrates the effectiveness of direct, transparent dialogue, arguing that the renewed alliance is both strategically grounded and historically significant.
Watch the full press conference below:
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