MUNICH, Feb 15 (Reuters) – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to begin a two-day trip this Sunday to strengthen ties with Slovakia and Hungary, whose conservative leaders, often at odds with other European Union countries, maintain cordial relations with US President Donald Trump.
Rubio will use the trip to discuss energy cooperation and bilateral issues, including commitments to NATO, the State Department said in a statement last week.
“These are countries that are very strongly with us, very cooperative with the US, they work very closely with us, and it is a good opportunity to visit them, in addition to being two countries that I have never been to,” Rubio told reporters before leaving for Europe on Thursday.
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Rubio, who in his dual role also serves as Trump’s national security adviser, meets in Bratislava this Sunday with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who visited Trump in Florida last month. The US diplomat’s trip follows his participation in the Munich Security Conference in recent days.
MEETING WITH ORBÁN ON THE 2nd
On Monday, Rubio is expected to meet with Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán, who is trailing in most polls ahead of April elections, when he could be removed from power.
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“The president said he supports him very much, and so do we,” Rubio said. “But obviously we will make this visit as a bilateral visit.”
Orbán, one of Trump’s closest allies in Europe, is considered by many on the American far right as a model for the US president’s tough policies on immigration and support for families and Christian conservatism. Budapest has repeatedly hosted events at the Conservative Political Action Conference, which brings together conservative activists and leaders, with another event scheduled for March.
TIES WITH MOSCOW AND CONFLICTS WITH EU
Both Fico and Orbán came into conflict with EU institutions over investigations into the rollback of democratic rules. They also maintained ties with Moscow, criticized and sometimes delayed the imposition of EU sanctions on Russia, and opposed sending military aid to Ukraine.
Even with other countries in the European Union securing alternative energy sources after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including purchasing natural gas from the US, Slovakia and Hungary continued to purchase Russian gas and oil, a practice criticized by Washington.
Rubio said this will be discussed during his brief visit, but did not elaborate.
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Fico, who described the EU as an institution in “deep crisis,” praised Trump, saying he would bring peace back to Europe. But Fico criticized the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in early January. Hungary and Slovakia have also so far diverged from Trump regarding NATO spending.
