US briefs Hungary first in Europe on US-Russian talks

The US briefed Hungary first in Europe on the US-Russian talks in Riyadh, Levente Magyar, a state secretary of the foreign ministry, said in Budapest on Wednesday, after talks with Louis Bono, the US Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs.

Although no concrete commitments were made at the talks, “the fact that they took place at all is an enormous step forward,” Magyar cited Bono as saying. The parties have agreed on a shared goal, peace in Ukraine, he said. The US and Russia also agreed that they would continue the dialogue and discussed restoring political and economic ties, he added.

Bono also said that the Trump administration saw Hungary as an important international ally, “and counts on us especially in promoting dialogue between Washington and Brussels,” Magyar said. Bono and Magyar said strengthening European defence capabilities is in the interest of the US and Hungary too. Magyar said he and Bono also discussed bilateral issues and agreed to maintain continuous dialogue.

PM’s political director: European leaders in ‘panicked scramble’ over US-Russia peace talks

The leaders of Europe “started scrambling in a panic”, despite the fact that “everything goes according to the script, except that according not to theirs, but that of [Hungarian Prime Minister] Viktor Orbán”, the PM’s political director said on Wednesday, referring to peace talks between US and Russia regarding the war in Ukraine.