00:00The decision to visit Hungary's Prime Minister as he campaigns ahead of April elections sends a clear message from the
00:06United States.
00:08Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated the Trump administration's full support for Hungary, at least while it was led by
00:15Viktor Orban.
00:16We are entering this golden era of relations between our countries, and not simply because of the alignment of our
00:22people,
00:22but because of the relationship that you have with the President of the United States.
00:27It's in our national interest, especially as long as you're the Prime Minister and the leader of this country,
00:32it's in our national interest that Hungary will be successful.
00:35Long one of Trump's closest allies in Europe, the Hungarian nationalist also maintains cordial ties with Russia,
00:42while regularly clashing with the EU on a range of issues, including funding for Kyiv.
00:48But Orban assured Marco Rubio that his country still backs US peace efforts in Ukraine.
00:53Hungary shall continue to support the efforts of peace of the US and Ukraine.
00:59And I must reiterate, although everybody knows, that if Donald Trump had been the President of the United States,
01:04this war would never have broken out.
01:06Prime Minister from 1998 to 2002, and since 2010,
01:12Orban has been trailing in opinion polls for months,
01:14against a pro-EU candidate, Peter Maja,
01:17who accuses Orban of corruption, cracking down on civil liberties and being a puppet of foreign powers.
01:24Trump's MAGA movement, on the other hand,
01:26views Orban as a shining example of conservative nationalism,
01:30despite Hungary's status as one of the EU's poorest countries.
01:34Energy was also on the agenda in Monday's talks.
01:37Last year, the US granted Hungary an exemption from sanctions on Russian oil and gas imports.
01:42Thank you very much.
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