US Secretary of State held a press conference in Budapest.
Thanks to the good personal relationship between US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Viktor Orban, “it is truly no exaggeration to say” that a “golden age” has dawned in Hungary-US relations, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Budapest on Monday.
“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.
By MTI
