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"I didn't promise him, but he certainly asked for it," Trump tells POLITICO about 'financial shield' Orban says he promised him
Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjártó, has tried to clarify Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán after Donald Trump publicly denied offering the Hungarian leader a financial “shield.” In an interview with Politico, the former US president said, “No, I didn’t promise him, but he certainly asked for it,” contradicting Orbán’s earlier statement that Budapest could access up to $20bn under an agreement with Washington. Orbán, who faces a tough election next year, had said that Hungary could receive a financial shield following his meeting with Trump in November.
Szijjártó said on Tuesday that “no agreement was in fact reached on any $20 billion, just as no one had claimed,” insisting instead that Orbán and Trump had agreed only to begin talks on “a new type of financial cooperation” that could provide some form of protection. Orbán’s government, grappling with a third year of stagnation, has introduced tax cuts, wage increases and food vouchers to bolster domestic support, while presenting potential US backing as proof that Hungary can secure alternatives to frozen EU funds, which remain blocked amid a long-running rule-of-law dispute.
EU to keep Russian assets frozen despite Hungary's objection
The European Union has decided to keep €210bn in Russian state assets stranded in Europe remain frozen indefinitely, after member state ambassadors endorsed a new legal mechanism granting emergency powers to the European Commission. The Danish Council presidency confirmed on Thursday that capitals had backed a revised Article 122 proposal by a clear majority, paving the way for formal adoption on Friday. The measure, which will stay in force until Russia ends its war against Ukraine and pays reparations, represents a significant setback for the Kremlin’s hope of recovering the funds as part of a future peace settlement, an idea promoted by Donald Trump but rejected by European governments. The approach also sharply limits the ability of pro-Kremlin states such as Hungary and Slovakia to veto extensions of sanctions and return the money.
Under the new rules, the current requirement for unanimous renewal of sanctions every six months will effectively be circumvented, removing a route by which Russia-friendly governments could force the release of the frozen assets. EU officials argued that unblocking the funds would risk severe economic disruption and leave the bloc exposed to potential threats. Hungary has formally challenged the decision, claiming it breaches EU law and the Commission’s neutrality, while Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, separately warned against any arrangement that might oblige his country to support Ukraine’s military spending. The Commission originally proposed the mechanism to reinforce a wider initiative to mobilise the frozen assets for Kyiv, most of which are held at Euroclear in Belgium.
Majority of Hungarians fear election interference from Moscow
A new survey by pollster Medián indicates a shift in Hungarian public attitudes since the 2022 outbreak of the war: perceptions of Ukraine have deteriorated, while views of Russia have improved. The findings suggest that years of multibillion-forint government campaigns have helped Viktor Orbán reshape public opinion, fostering growing scepticism toward the West and a rise in pro-Russian attitude, even as most Hungarians still believe the country belongs in the European Union. The result, the report notes, is a political landscape in which many now regard Ukraine as a greater threat to Hungary than Russia, despite Russia being the aggressor in the conflict.
The survey highlights how dramatically these attitudes have flipped. At the start of 2023, 45 percent of respondents viewed Russia as a threat and 35 percent said the same of Ukraine. The polling reverses that picture entirely. Medián also found that concerns about outside interference in next year’s elections are widespread, with 83 percent of Hungarians believing foreign involvement is possible. A majority of those respondents consider interference from Russia the most plausible scenario.