Donald Trump pledged his full support to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during the first session of the Peace Council convened in Washington on Thursday.
Introducing the heads of state and government attending the high-level meeting, the US president praised Orbán’s record, saying the Hungarian leader has been doing “an incredible job”, particularly when it comes to tackling migration, MTI writes.
Trump also referred to Hungary’s upcoming parliamentary elections and reiterated that he stands firmly behind Orbán, making it clear that he supports his continued leadership.
Orbán: the Americans are negotiating, Europe is choosing war
Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Orbán highlighted what he described as widening differences between the United States and the European Union on key geopolitical issues.
According to the prime minister, the Americans are constantly launching diplomatic initiatives and remain in direct contact with the Russians, engaging in ongoing negotiations. In contrast, he said European leaders have decided to continue the war.
“They are not merely planning or considering it,” Orbán said. “They have made a decision that Russia must be defeated on Ukrainian territory, and they speak about this openly.”
He argued that such an approach points towards further escalation rather than peace.
Transatlantic cooperation becoming more complicated
Orbán warned that cooperation across the Atlantic is becoming increasingly complex. In his view, the strategic gap between America and Europe is deepening not only over Ukraine but also in other international conflicts.
As an example, he mentioned Gaza, where he said there is a strong American initiative in place while the EU is largely absent, only becoming involved later and indirectly.
The Hungarian prime minister suggested that these diverging approaches risk weakening traditional transatlantic unity at a time when coordinated diplomacy would be crucial.
Clear political message ahead of elections
Trump’s public endorsement sends a strong political signal ahead of Hungary’s next elections. By praising Orbán’s migration policy and governance record, the US president effectively positioned himself as an ally of the Hungarian government on both domestic and foreign policy matters.
If you missed it:
With a friend like that, who needs enemies? One day this, the next that, and the day after tomorrow, a piece of your land. If Orbán stops kowtowing to Trump every day, he’ll be out of the picture in no time. Anyone who thinks that’s independent politics in Hungary’s interest must be blind. Trump is only looking out for his own interests!
Uhum…
More then 25% of Trumps term is already over.
Thus far Trump gave Hungary exceptions from sanctions, brought US investment to Hungary (despite the homeshoring mandate), is in the process of preparing a financial safety net against EU sanctions, opened the USA for Hungarian investment (despite the protectionist mandate), and so on.
When will you accept you were wrong? When his term is over and Trumps still didn’t betray Hungary?
(That’s a rethorical question. I know, that a lobotomized, cultist idealogue, like yourself can never accept that he is wrong.)
You’re doing such a good job, Márk, I hardly need to write anything!
Thank you’
You, Dear Peter, have Modern Leftomania.
What does that mean?
You live in a world of one-sided facts to support your feelings, king of which is your emnity for people who do not wish society to be homosexual, White countries to be non-White, or who wish to live peacefully with Russia, Iran, & China.
Dailynews today: “According to the prime minister, the Americans are constantly launching diplomatic initiatives and remain in direct contact with the Russians, engaging in ongoing negotiations. In contrast, he said European leaders have decided to continue the war.”
DPA today: “Russia continues to reject the participation of European states in the Ukraine peace talks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was no point in European involvement. The talks should continue in the existing format between Russians and Ukrainians, mediated by the US.”
Why? Because Russia believes it can negotiate more advantages with Trump alone, since Ukraine is far away for Trump, while the Europeans will have to live with the problem on the ground even after the war ends. Trump only wants his Nobel Peace Prize; he doesn’t really care about Europe personally.
The same pattern as always: the EU and Germany are to blame for everything, while the Russians are as innocent as lambs. The same scapegoat is always predetermined.
All the celebratory pronouncements regarding American investments in Hungary are largely wishful thinking and, compared to German investments, merely a drop in the ocean.
Germany is Hungary’s most important trading partner, both as a customer and a supplier. Germany is one of the countries with which Hungary has a trade surplus, solely because German companies produce on a large scale in Hungary. It is the leading foreign investor in Hungary: German companies accounted for approximately 28% of all foreign direct investment in Hungary. In 2005 alone, Germany invested or reinvested around €1.2 billion in Hungary.
There are more than 7,000 German companies in Hungary that were wholly or partially founded with German capital. One of the most important business connections is the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Budapest, which represents the interests of more than 900 member companies from both countries.
2017 was a record year for bilateral trade: Germany accounted for 26.5% of Hungary’s imports and 27.3% of its exports. Hungary exports more goods to Germany than to its next five trading partners combined. This demonstrates the importance of Hungary’s trade relations with Germany. The reason is because German companies produce on a large scale in Hungary.
Audi built the largest engine plant in Europe (and the third largest in the world) in Győr, making it Hungary’s largest exporter with total investments exceeding €3.3 billion by 2007.
Daimler AG is investing €800 million ($1.2 billion) and creating up to 2,500 jobs at a new assembly plant in Kecskemét, Hungary, with a production capacity of 100,000 Mercedes-Benz small cars per year.
From March 1992 to 1998, Opel produced 80,000 Astra and 4,000 Vectra vehicles at its Szentgotthárd plant in Hungary. Today, the plant produces around half a million engines and cylinder heads per year.
In December 2017, Wuppermann AG opened a production facility for specialized steel products in Gönyü on the Danube River. The investment amounted to over €110 million, the company’s largest investment since 1872.
In August 2018, BMW announced that it would build its first plant since 2000 near the Hungarian city of Debrecen. The plant is expected to employ around 1,000 people and eventually assemble 150,000 cars per year. The investment in the site amounts to over €1 billion. The Hungarian government supported BMW with the equivalent of almost €38 million.
I’ll end it here! If that is not sufficient justification for my statement above, then I cannot help any further. But of course, you can continue to dream about America, it’s just not realistic.
‘All the celebratory pronouncements regarding American investments in Hungary are largely wishful thinking and, compared to German investments, merely a drop in the ocean.’
Excellent point, Dear Peter.
Thanks to Climate-change fantasies, German industry is quickly becoming Hungarian Industry.
Happy for Hungarians, but, sad for our German cousins.
How will they support all their Muslim guests?
Hungary Today writes about American investments in Hungary on December 18, 2025, and anyone familiar with the newspaper knows how close to the state it is:
The economic ties between Hungary and the USA are reaching a new peak. Three prominent American companies will establish new locations in Hungary or significantly expand existing capacities, Foreign and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó announced in New York on Wednesday.
With a total volume of €55 million, these projects not only strengthen the bilateral partnership but also create over 200 new jobs for highly qualified professionals. The Hungarian government is supporting the projects with subsidies amounting to €10 million.
Note: And on top of that, €10 million in subsidies were paid!
In 2025, US investments worth €487 million flowed into Hungary, and investments had never before even come close to this scale.
That’s the situation with US investments.
An indorsment from a pedo-conman….is that suppose to help the Viktator?
🙄🙄🙄 hulye
Before the US spent Trillions to end the USSR and set free all of Eastern Europe.
Before that it. Spent trillions to rebuild Europe and Japan that became the 2-3 largest economies in the world- what did they both have in common- the US – the US has paid 2/3 of. NATO for 75 years.
Gee I wonder why S Korea isn’t ruled by N Korea backed by china. Can you children really have a brain. They majority of Germans and Japanese and south koreas stopped the fighting and joined the the US to make it happen. Your parents should tell. You much of both countries were leveled and worked with the US To make it happen. Its sad to see whats happening in Europe today- many Americans are Europeans. They are the ones in power today. We understand your proud of Obama – Nobel prize 3 month in office and inflamed racism – that continues today. Venezuela will soon rival Poland in is success. 35 million people are solid behind the US rebuilding the country. Good luck with china. The reason Ukraine happened and continues is the arrogance of it leaders. Sorry the Two largest cities I Europe are in Russia. London – paris and Berlin are a disaster.
“Sorry the Two largest cities I Europe are in Russia.”
I’d check the reliability of your source. Here’s a source that’s certainly reliable.
https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/946959/umfrage/groesste-staedte-in-europa/
According to this source, Istanbul leads with 15.01 million inhabitants, followed by Moscow with 14.52 million, London with 10.42 million, and Paris with 9.38 million. St. Petersburg, the second-largest Russian city, with its 4.74 million inhabitants, only comes in 6th place behind Madrid.
Trump had promised to end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours. That has now stretched to almost 400 days. During his 13 months in office, the president managed to organize several meetings between representatives of Ukraine and Russia. However, the last three rounds of talks this year (two in Abu Dhabi and one this week in Geneva) have brought the warring parties no closer to a peace agreement.
According to US officials who briefed the Wall Street Journal, Trump is now more interested in an agreement with Iran and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
They said Trump is no longer pressuring Vladimir Putin or Vladimir Zelenskyy to reach an agreement. Previously, he had repeatedly accused Ukraine of intransigence and, in the fall, imposed oil sanctions on Russia, forced India to reduce its commodity purchases, and initiated a crackdown on shadow tankers.
But according to sources at the Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration now appears to be losing interest in the peace process in Ukraine and increasingly focusing on other geopolitical issues.
Moreover, Trump’s approval ratings are at a record low. Americans are dissatisfied with the rising cost of living, the economic situation, and increasingly with his administration’s anti-immigrant policies. His political allies are now urging Trump to shift his focus more towards domestic issues, especially because crucial midterm elections are coming up in November, which could significantly limit his power.
Russia continues to insist on its maximalist demands, including the complete surrender of the Ukrainian army in the Donbas. However, this is merely a tactical demand that will not satisfy the Kremlin’s strategic ambitions to overthrow the current government in Kyiv and bring Ukraine under its influence.
Ukraine should serve as a buffer zone between Russia and the West, the heads of five European intelligence agencies told Reuters. They therefore expressed pessimism regarding the chances of a peace agreement this year. The war is expected to last another one to three years, senior European officials told the Wall Street Journal. This would allow Orbán to continue exploiting the issue for his day-to-day political gain.
The latest talks have become an attempt by both sides not to upset Trump, the Wall Street Journal wrote. Russia is delaying negotiations in order to seek improved economic relations and a relaxation of sanctions with Washington in the context of talks on Ukraine.
Putin’s special envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, has proposed projects worth $14 trillion that the US would have access to in Russia. This enormous sum is equivalent to seven times Russia’s GDP. Even before the war, when American companies were active in Russia, they did not come close to such sums. Russia needs US support to exert pressure on Ukraine and force concessions, said political scientist Abbas Gallyamov: “Putin cannot afford to upset Trump, given the rapid deterioration of the Russian economy and its further weakening due to new sanctions. Therefore, he is eagerly presenting himself as a man willing to find a peaceful solution.”
“Kyiv, for its part, is also trying to demonstrate its loyalty to Trump. This year’s talks were aimed at convincing the US president that Ukraine is not the problem,” a senior Ukrainian official told the Wall Street Journal.
One only needs to trust the law; then a guardian angel, who didn’t help with the tariffs either, isn’t necessary.
US President Donald Trump has suffered a defeat in the Supreme Court in his dispute over his aggressive tariff policy.
According to the US justices, Trump violated federal law by unilaterally imposing sweeping tariffs internationally. The decision was reached by a clear majority of six to three of the nine justices.
Tariff Dispute: Defeat for Trump at the Supreme Court
With this ruling, Trump’s far-reaching tariffs now lack a legal basis. However, Trump’s team had already announced that, in the event of a defeat in the court, they would attempt to rely on other legal grounds to continue implementing the US president’s tariff policy.
Numerous US trading partners may now hope for relief from US tariffs. However, whether this relief will actually materialize in the long term remains unclear.
Is this Orban’s guardian angel?
The latest nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran once again failed to produce a solution. Now, US President Trump is repeating his threat to attack Iran, Reuters reports. Ultimately, a third world war, triggered by his erratic policies, seems more likely than an escalation in the Ukraine conflict, as Orban keeps claiming.
Perhaps Orban can nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize right after he bombs Iran. He certainly has been padding his resume blowing up boats in the Caribbean.
WAIT! I thought Victor was railing against foriegn interest in Hungarian politics?
Fascists stick together. You will find words of encouragement from murderous fascist dictator Putin as well. Anyone have a look at Trump’s “Peace Board”? It looks like a board meeting of Bond villains with Trump at the head as Dr. Evil.
To realistically assess the prospects for peace in this war in Ukraine, it is also necessary to understand the factors in Russia that could influence this process, particularly the Russian financial sector and the Russian economy in general. Both are at a turning point and will increasingly influence the course in the future. The population itself is powerless and will not have a significant impact on future developments.
More than half of large companies in Russia ended 2025 with declining profits, reduced or completely froze investment projects, and many are preparing for layoffs, warned the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP).
According to an RSPP survey, only 19% of companies continued their investments as usual last year. One in three companies (33%) reduced them “significantly,” an equal number reduced them “slightly,” and 15% completely froze all projects.
Three-quarters of respondents in the RSPP survey (72%) complained about the increase in outstanding receivables, meaning non-payment by business partners. The survey also revealed that state-owned enterprises are among the first to default on their payment obligations.
Sixty-two percent of civilian companies experienced a decline in profits in 2025, and the proportion of unprofitable businesses increased, according to Alexander Murychev, Vice President of the RSPP. “There is a growing liquidity crisis and payment defaults. Costs are rising dramatically. As the situation regarding these indicators deteriorated steadily throughout 2025 and continues to worsen this year, companies are gradually depleting their own resources that would allow them to continue operating,” Murychev said.
Many companies and enterprises have already placed employees on furlough and, according to Murychev, will most likely be forced to make layoffs in the second half of 2026. “The only prospect currently emerging for many companies is a reduction in production and staff, and in the worst-case scenario, unfortunately, bankruptcy,” said Murychev. The labor market situation is better for the defense industry than for other businesses. Companies not essential to the war economy are increasingly complaining about a labor shortage. On the other hand, many state-owned enterprises have placed their employees on unpaid leave, significantly reduced working hours, or have not paid their employees for extended periods.
According to Rosstat, the net profit (profit minus losses) of Russian companies fell by 5.5% to 25.43 trillion rubles between January and November of last year. Oil and gas companies saw a 55% drop in profits, automakers experienced a fourfold decline, and coal companies suffered a record loss of 334.9 billion rubles. Of 28 sectors, 21 ended the year with a loss. Of the seven sectors that experienced growth, three were part of the defense industry.
The government is forecasting accelerated economic growth this year, from 1% to 1.3%. But in reality, the economy could slip into recession, according to Oleg Vyugin, a professor at the Institute of Economics at the Higher School of Economics. Russia is entering 2026 with higher taxes and high interest rates; in addition, there is the problem of insufficient oil and gas revenues, partly due to price cuts to $29 per barrel, Vyugin explains.
And what about natural gas in Russia itself? There should be a surplus there, given that less gas has been exported since the war. However, this is not the case.
Market participants have reported a drastic decline in natural gas inventories. Supply shortages of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) have occurred in Russian regions. According to the newspaper Kommersant, there is a shortage of LPG in the Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, and Volgograd regions, the Moscow region, and Tatarstan. Market participants are reporting critically low fuel inventories.
The Real-Invest Group reported that some gas stations have had to close due to rail delivery delays that began in February. According to Real-Invest, approximately 2,500 tons of gasoline are stored at the Sergach gas station, which have not yet been unloaded. At the same time, the company is short 1,800 tons of fuel, equivalent to the monthly revenue of its entire gas station network.
Similar problems were also reported by other market participants. “In the Nizhny Novgorod region, we’re still managing to stay afloat, but we’re running out of money. In Volgograd, Ivanovo, and Yaroslavl, we’ve run out of gas. It’s difficult,” said a representative of Oka-Propane. The company noted that the fuel crisis was not only due to logistical problems at Russian Railways, but also to the policies of producers who, in December, released the majority of the liquefied natural gas for export, thus leading to a shortage on the domestic market.
The gas station chain Gazenergoset-NN reported that its supplies would last for another three to four days, and some stations were already empty. “All the gasoline is sitting at various railway stations and isn’t reaching its recipients… We don’t know the reasons. For example, cars have been sitting at Arzamas-2 for three weeks now. This isn’t just affecting us. There are the same difficulties in Kazan and the Moscow region,” the company stated.
Low oil prices and Western sanctions in response to Russia’s war of aggression are driving Russian state revenues down and weakening its energy sector. The tariffs imposed by Trump on countries that import Russian oil are having a particularly significant impact. According to an internal analysis, energy revenues are “declining sharply” and now account for only about 22 percent of Russia’s total state revenue – down from over 50 percent previously. India’s shift away from Russian oil is especially draining Putin’s coffers. Last week, India announced it would reduce its oil imports from Russia by 28 percent. The country had previously been a major buyer of Russian energy.
The US business news portal Bloomberg reported that Russia is currently struggling to find buyers for its oil. Around 140 million barrels of crude oil are currently stored on ships – about 60 million more than in the summer. The Russian business daily Kommersant forecasts a decline in Russian oil sales of more than one million tons.
Egg prices in Russia have risen sharply again. While this might seem ridiculous at first glance, it indicates that Russia’s inflation problem is very acute.
Compared to the previous month, egg prices rose by 5.7%, and over the past six months, by 20%. The situation in the wholesale sector is far worse: within a single month, suppliers reportedly increased prices by 80 to 100 percent, according to Kommersant, citing data from eggpack and sources in retail chains and poultry farms.
As more and more consumers cut back on spending and buy less meat, the demand for eggs is rising: in terms of volume, sales increased by 9.9 percent compared to the previous year – five times the overall growth in food sales (1.9 percent), as statistics from NTech show. At the same time, for example, retail sales of beef fell by 6 percent and lamb sales by a staggering 39 percent.
Budget expenditures for servicing the national debt have become astonishingly high since 2025. While military spending accounted for 4.4% of total budget expenditures in 2021, before the start of the war in Ukraine, it has now reached 8% and is projected to reach almost 9% in 2026. This is not critical in itself. However, if one adds up military and internal security expenditures along with debt servicing costs, these items alone would consume almost half of the Russian budget, notes Vasily Astrov, a Russia expert at the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW): “A rather high figure.” And noteworthy insofar as the high key interest rate significantly increases the cost of new loans.
The development of foreign trade with China is noteworthy. With the war in Ukraine, the Middle Kingdom became Russia’s absolutely dominant trading partner, definitively replacing the European Union in this role. Since 2020, bilateral trade volume had been steadily increasing. In 2025, it not only appears to have peaked, but also declined for the first time – by 7% to $228 billion, according to the Chinese customs office. Chinese exports even fell by 10.4% to $101.3 billion, while Russian exports declined by 3.9%. This occurred against the backdrop of total Chinese exports to the world increasing by 5.5% and a positive trade balance reaching a record $1.2 trillion.
Furthermore, a worrying dichotomy is taking place within Russian industry. “The defense industry and related sectors are experiencing double-digit growth rates, while the civilian sector is sliding into recession,” write Prokopenko and Kojandr of the Russian business publication “The Bell” in their analysis. “In the first eleven months of 2025, civilian manufacturing industries declined by 4.9%. Tractor production plummeted by 61.6%, bulldozer production by 53.7%, and elevator production by 37.2%. For the first time in 15 years, a decline in food production was recorded.” Private industry is struggling with expensive loans, while the defense industry receives subsidies.
There is much more to report, but I will leave it at that for now. In summary, the crisis in the Russian economy is worsening.
Hungary is aligning itself with the worst eggs in the basket and will get its due if it continues on this course.
Or hopefully, people will see the value in a real change that is being offered. Change won’t be easy either. There is a lot of mess to mop up.. And a hard road to actual, practical stability and long term prospects.
I love Hungary, and think people in the country are good, hard working and deserve better than what they have. The metrics are all garbled. There’s no reason Hungary is in such a poor position it is in, except for the government that oversees it. Orbán is a terrible dinosaur leader, and time to leave him behind.