Messrs. Putin and Trump are coming to Budapest

HUNGARY - In Brief 19 Oct 2025 by Istvan Racz
It was only two days ago that we wrote in our forecast report that Hungary's foreign relations are developing now with all eyes kept on the upcoming parliamentary election, and that the roles are clearly distributed: Messrs. Putin and Trump support PM Orbán, whereas the European mainstream supports his opposition.Our statements quite rarely get verified so clearly and rapidly. For sure, the presidents of Russia and the US are not coming to Budapest to enjoy the impressive view from the balcony of Mr. Orbán's office at the top of the city's Castle Hill over the Danube river. They are coming predominantly because Mr. Putin wants to win Mr. Trump to his somewhat improved offer regarding the set of preconditions for him to consider starting ceasefire talks, if related reports are correct.But politicians rarely do things for just one reason. They like to hit two or more birds by throwing one stone. Clearly, Mr. Putin can show the world that he can still freely enter the EU without being arrested in line with an ICC order. Both him and Mr. Trump can demonstrate to the world that they have a place within Europe, the government of which stands on their side, rather than on the side of the European political mainstream. And not least, they can demonstrate their strong support to Mr. Orbán, in his fight to keep power at the upcoming election in Hungary.Well, the latter objective will be clearly reached if the meeting in Budapest indeed comes together. Even though, Mr. Magyar, the head of the opposition, is more or less right in saying that originally, it was him who proposed that Mr. Orbán should offer Budapest as the venue of a major peacemaking conference, all the credit will ...

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