US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, and the Hungarian foreign minister, Péter Szíjjártó, have signed a civil nuclear co-operation agreement this morning in Budapest.
The meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán comes soon after US President Donald Trump’s post on his social media platform, Truth Social, which praised Orbán for being a “truly strong and powerful leader.”
During the signing, Orbán also spoke on potential construction of up to $20 million of small modular reactors and a future nuclear fuel deal with the US energy company Westinghouse.
Rubio said the signing brings the US and Hungary to a “Golden Age” of relations, building on the “historical meeting” at the White House last November. Rubio further commented on Viktor Orbán and Donald Trump’s relationship making all the difference on this deal, and how “[Orbán’s] success is our success.”
Trump has been public about his support for Orbán’s anti-immigration views, and other US conservatives agree with the Hungarian government’s LGBTQ+ stances such as effective stops to same sex marriage and adoption, as well the Budapest Pride celebration being banned last year.
Hungary also received a one-year exemption from US sanctions on Russian energy last November as Orbán kept energy trade deals open with Russia against EU efforts to cut off these networks. Orbán has also kept close ties with the Kremlin during its war with Ukraine.
Rubio also visited Slovakia, which like Hungary, has uneasy relations with the European Union and uses Russian energy. The visit comes during Rubio’s Central European Tour of pro-Trump leaders, opening up new routes for the US into Europe.