Rubio endorses Orbán's bid for another term after April elections during a visit to Hungary

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday enthusiastically endorsed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán 's bid to serve a fifth straight term after upcoming elections in April, emphasizing during a visit to Budapest the strong personal relationship between the leader and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Orbán, who has led Hungary since 2010, is one of Trump’s most vocal supporters in the European Union, will face the toughest challenge of his last 16 years in power in the April 12 vote.

Rubio was in the Hungarian capital for meetings with Orbán and his government where he signed an agreement on U.S.-Hungarian civilian nuclear cooperation that includes the possible purchase of compact nuclear reactors — known as small modular reactors or SMRs — as well as U.S.-supplied nuclear fuel and spent fuel storage technology.

At a news conference in Budapest, Rubio said U.S.-Hungary relations — which both he and Orbán described as experiencing a “golden age” under Trump — go beyond mere diplomatic cooperation.

“I’m going to be very blunt with you," Rubio said. "The prime minister and the president have a very, very close personal relationship and working relationship, and I think it has been beneficial to our two countries.”

“That person-to-person connection that you’ve established with the president has made all the difference in the world in building this relationship,” Rubio continued, addressing Orbán. “President Trump is deeply committed to your success because your success is our success.”

Rubio's stop in Hungary followed a visit to Slovakia on Sunday after he previously attended the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

Widely considered Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most reliable advocate in the EU, Orbán has maintained warm relations with the Kremlin despite its war against Ukraine. Orbán has remained firmly committed to purchasing Russian energy despite efforts by the EU to wean off such supplies, and received an exemption from U.S. sanctions on Russian energy after a November meeting in the White House with Trump.

Rubio would not specify on Monday how long that exemption would last as the EU plans to phase out Russian fossil fuels entirely by the end of 2027.

On Monday, Orbán told Rubio that his government is ready to host any future trilateral peace summit between the United States, Russia, and Ukraine, and that Trump has an “open invitation” to Budapest.

He also claimed that Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, were seeking to interfere in Hungary’s upcoming elections by criticizing Orbán’s opposition to providing weapons or financial aid to Kyiv and threats to block Ukraine’s eventual membership in the EU.