The Nov. 7 meeting in the White House of Hungary’s Prime MInister Viktor Orban and U.S. President Donald Trump included reference to—wait for it—a future Budapest summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders agreed on the need to correct the mistaken Biden administration policy centered upon Russophobia.
Orban, on his way to Washington, told the newspaper Magyar Nemzet that “there are one or two unresolved issues left in U.S.-Russia negotiations” on settling the Ukraine conflict. “If they are resolved, a peace summit in Budapest could take place within days.” Then, in a later interview with Kossuth Radio, he expressed confidence that such a summit “will happen,” but cautioned that “we do not yet know whether it will bring a solution or simply be an important step toward peace.”
Then, on Nov. 7, prior to the meeting with Orban, Trump told reporters that he would like to proceed with a Budapest summit. When asked about it, he said: “There’s always a chance, a very good chance.... If we have it, I’d like to do it in Budapest.” Asked what the main obstacle was, Trump made no mention of Russia’s security concern to halt NATO’s expansion up to its borders. He maintained: “The basic dispute is” that Ukraine and Russia “just don’t want to stop yet.” He repeated his concern that the fighting was taking a “big toll on both countries.”
At their joint press conference, Orban blamed the Biden administration for whipping up Europe’s Russophobia. He explained: “Without the pressure coming from the U.S. government—I’m speaking about 2022—the Europeans would not take that hard line that they have today on the war.” Trump responded positively, saying that “Biden actually pushed for that war to happen,” adding that he, Trump, had “inherited that mess.”
Separately, Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed there are unresolved issues to be dealt with before a summit can be arranged. He said that “there is a lot of discussion that technical teams have to have at the lower level before the leaders can get to a deal.” Earlier this week, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov had said something similar: “A high-level meeting, of any kind, requires in-depth preparation and careful consideration of all aspects. Currently, neither the first nor the second prerequisites for organizing such a meeting have been met.”
