PM Orbán’s surprise gift: A message from Vladimir Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent festive greetings to several foreign leaders as 2025 approaches, according to the latest Kremlin statement. In an unexpected turn of events, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has received a personal message from Vladimir Putin, despite the likelihood that nations deemed “unfriendly” by Russia would typically be excluded from such gestures.
The Russian leader classifies as ‘unfriendly’ countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia or have strongly opposed Moscow in foreign policy. According to Index, the Russian leader classifies as ‘unfriendly’ countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia or have strongly opposed Moscow in foreign policy.
For the third year in a row, the leaders of countries on the list, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, did not receive New Year greetings from Putin. This practice contrasts sharply with the Russian president’s previous tradition of sending messages in a spirit of even broader engagement.
Hungary’s exceptional situation
Hungary’s status in December remained unchanged on the list of “unfriendly” countries, but the country still received special treatment. Vladimir Putin’s Christmas and New Year greetings to the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán indicate that maintaining relations between the two countries is an important aspect of Russian diplomacy. This gesture may indicate an openness on the part of Moscow to maintaining bilateral relations regardless of Hungary’s official classification.
However, Putin’s festive greetings were not only addressed to Viktor Orbán. Among the recipients are prominent personalities and leaders such as Pope Francis, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenka, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and former Cuban President Raúl Castro have also received messages, showing that Putin is paying attention not only to current leaders but also to former leaders and symbolic figures.
Putin’s plan
While Putin’s Christmas messages are in the realm of diplomatic gestures, the Russian leader’s strategic goals are much broader. According to a security expert at the University of Buckingham, Putin has not abandoned his plan to restore the Soviet Union’s power structure and sphere of influence. This strategy extends to countries that joined NATO after 1997, including Hungary.
The British professor warns that the threat of Russian expansionism cannot be ignored. In his view, US President Donald Trump’s idea of compromising with Russia to end the war in Ukraine would be a major strategic mistake. Such an agreement could strengthen Putin’s resolve to pursue his aggressive goals of weakening NATO and influencing European countries.
The sharp contrast between the Russian president’s festive greetings and his geopolitical objectives reflects the duality of Moscow’s strategy. While Putin tries to cultivate relations with certain leaders through friendly gestures, his basic policy remains one of power expansion. Hungary’s special position in this dynamic raises further questions about the future of relations between the two countries. This example clearly shows that behind the symbolic gestures of diplomacy, it is always worth considering the underlying political intentions.
Read also:
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Great article except you didn’t provide the name of the professor who is a security expert at the University of Buckingham. His analysis is a succinct summation of my views that I have been trying to put forward. Putin’s expansionist plans are a huge threat to Europe and to our collective peril Fidesz has been doing everything it can within the EU and NATO to enable Russian expansionism.
All I read is how bad Russia is, what about the so called “Minnsk” agreement that was signed by the United States that agreed not to encroach along Russia border? All was ignored and Nato moved in to just about all but Ukraine, and that is what caused the problem , so who is the real cause of the war???
William the Minsk Agreement was signed in 2014 at the end of Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine and Russia broke that agreement. NATO expanded in the 1990s. I guess Hungarians can blame themselves for provoking Russia by joining NATO then. The whole idea is preposterous. Russia is the evil empire which occupied Eastern Europe for decades. Thousands of Hungarians died and were tortured under Russian direction. All of those countries joined NATO to ensure that never again would the Russians be their masters. Finland and Sweden now also joined to ensure their own security. It is all about protecting the sovereignty of Hungary and the rest of Europe from Russian terror and has absolutely zero to do with any kind of threat to Russia itself. Russia is a nuclear power that is perfectly capable of protecting its’ own borders. The only threat NATO poses to Russia is its’ ability to stop Russian expansion and that is something that we all need.
OMG OMG OMG, Putin sent us Christmas/N.Y. greetings! How terrible! It is an outrage!
We don’t want that!
We want an endless war! We want a total destruction of our economies and living standards! We ultimately want our young men to go die in Ukraine and be replaced with “New Europeans” from Burkina Faso, Syria, Somalia, and Afghanistan!
Etc. Courtesy the Lunatic Left.
@michaelsteiner – it´s not as much about being on the list than who you are on the list with.
The “company that you keep”… It often implies that the behavior, values, and character of those people can reflect on you or influence you. The idea behind the saying is that the people you choose to be around can shape your habits, reputation, and even your worldview. It’s often used as advice to encourage someone to choose their friends or allies wisely.
Thought I would spell this out!
Lie down with dogs and wake up with fleas.
If NATO sees Russia as such a big threat, why did the nations not pay enough into the defense budget?
If NATO sees Russia as evil, why did they approve multiple pipelines and buy natural gas from Russia?
This entire “Russia is evil” is a charade created by the same people who supported the USSR during the cold war.
Many EU nations are imprisoning their own citizens over political speech….Putin imprisons fewer citizens today than the UK!
Putin is making punishment for pedophiles more severe while EU nations release pedophiles from prison so they have room for citizens that raise their voices over policy.
Make no mistake, this is not a defense of Putin, but a damnation of the warmongering, anti-peace EU.
Russian propaganda has clearly done its’ job on those who blame the EU for war mongering for a war of aggression that Russia launched into Ukraine now twice and Russia also launched into Georgia. Hungarians who hold these views deserve to have their own country invaded by an aggressor and have a neighbouring country veto all military and economic assistance to Hungary all in the name of “peace”.
No wonder Russian people hate Europeans after they read your comments. I think it is stupid to despise a nation of well-educated and talented people with an immense reserve of natural resources. The western EU nations will go broke buying the much-needed natural resources because of its utterly idiotic policies.
If EU and NATO refused Ukraine’s request of joining, there would be peace in Europe. The Davos puppeteers have brainwashed most Europeans but Hungarians and Slovaks. This shows that the Hungarian race is superior to most EU population.