Viktor Orban sees ally in Trump after 15 years in right-wing wilderness

Hungarian Prime Minister says US President needs to help find an end to Russia-Ukraine war

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said US President Donald Trump's return to office was good news for Hungary. Getty Images

Live updates: World Governments Summit in Dubai

US President Donald Trump is taking over everything, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a Dubai summit on Thursday.

Mr Orban was being interviewed by US broadcaster and journalist Tucker Carlson at the World Governments Summit, which has been taking place this week in the emirate.

The Hungarian Prime Minister said Mr Trump's high profile since returning to the White House is good news for right-wing regime in his homeland.

"This is very helpful to Hungary," he told Mr Carlson in an interview at Dubai's Museum of the Future. "It was difficult to survive the last 15 years but now the Americans are not kneeling on our chest."

As Mr Trump begins his second term as US President, Mr Orban said he has made a "huge change in the political thinking of the West", particularly in terms of economic competitiveness, gender and traditional family values.

"I think the approach of the new incumbent administration of the US is very special approach. The US sees a triangle: USA, Europe, China."

Mr Orban said Hungary should be steadfast in finding a way to make a deal with the US. "We should come up with a strategy and make a deal, otherwise we will suffer because we are not strong enough to defend our interest," he added. "We have to be sharp, so if we don’t do a strategy the EU will fall apart."

On the war in Ukraine

In a previous interview with Mr Carlson in August 2023, Mr Orban said the only way to end the Russia-Ukraine war was for Mr Trump to be US President again.

"Call back Trump, that's the only way out," he said at the time. "The best foreign policy of the recent several decades belong to him."

One of the reasons Mr Orban stands for an end to the Russia-Ukraine war and sanctions is because he says Hungary loses €7 billion a year as a result. Despite that, he said the EU should not be involved in the war.

"My attitude to the Russians is not negative or crazy, as many of the western leaders at this moment. Don’t forget that this war is not about Ukraine, it’s about the enlargement of Nato. I was the only one who was against the involvement of the EU into the war," he said during Thursday's interview.

The Hungarian Prime Minister told Mr Carlson he always believed a war would make Russia stronger and he urged Mr Trump to find a way to end it before it escalated.

“Tens of millions of Ukrainians left the country, the industrial areas are totally destroyed and it’s a tragedy. If President Trump is not able to find a solution, this war could easily become Afghanistan for the EU. It would be an endless war, we are in serious danger,” he said.

Mr Trump recently indicated that Ukraine should give up its territory and abandon its aspirations for Nato membership. However, Mr Orban said most Europeans are “pro-peace", explaining why Mr Trump received strong backlash for his comments.

Since the beginning of Russia’s war on Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv estimates that more than 800,000 Russian and at least 440,000 Ukrainian troops have been killed or wounded.