Unexpected message from Putin to PM Orbán: Trump, Kim, Erdogan, Castro, and Fico among recipients

Viktor Orbán, Hungary’s Prime Minister, also received New Year greetings from President Vladimir Putin. In doing so, he joined an exclusive group, as he was one of only two EU leaders to receive such a message from the Russian president, alongside Slovakia’s Prime Minister, Robert Fico.

Heartwarming Trump-Putin conversations

According to the Kremlin press service cited by the Hungarian News Agency, Vladimir Putin spoke with his American counterpart, Donald Trump. The briefing noted that Putin had already sent Trump a Christmas greeting and that the two leaders exchanged warm personal messages during a telephone call on the occasion of Christmas and the New Year.

Yuri Ushakov, the Russian president’s foreign policy adviser, stated that the two presidents exchanged mutual wishes for happiness and prosperity for the peoples of Russia and the United States. The Kremlin press service also reported that Putin sent Christmas and New Year greetings to BRICS partner countries, including Brazil, India, China, and South Africa, as well as to many other states in the Global South and East, and to most members of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

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Kim Jong Un also greeted by Putin

Among European leaders, Putin sent New Year greetings, according to the Kremlin list, to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, as well as to Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Slovakia’s Robert Fico. As a NATO leader, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also received greetings from Moscow.

Putin also extended his regards to Pope Leo XIV. In addition, he conveyed greetings to several former world leaders, including former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, and former Cuban leader Raúl Castro. The Russian president also sent good wishes to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

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