Hungary is once again at the center of global politics, as its Prime Minister Viktor Orbán celebrates his country’s selection as the venue for a highly anticipated summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The planned meeting, expected to take place in Budapest within two weeks of Trump’s announcement on October 16, 2025, has ignited both applause and controversy across Europe and beyond, according to reporting from the Associated Press and CBS News.
Orbán has not been shy about his enthusiasm. Speaking to state radio on October 17, he declared, “Budapest is essentially the only place in Europe today where such a meeting could be held, primarily because Hungary is almost the only pro-peace country. For three years, we have been the only country that has consistently, openly, loudly and actively advocated for peace.” On social media, he was even more effusive, hailing the summit as “great news for the peace-loving people of the world” and describing Hungary as “the island of PEACE.”
This is not Orbán’s first time in the international spotlight. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he has maintained close ties with Putin, distinguishing himself as one of the few European leaders to do so. Orbán’s government has consistently opposed Western military and financial aid to Ukraine, refusing to supply weapons or allow their transfer across Hungarian borders. According to CBS News, Hungary has also increased its reliance on Russian fossil fuels, with energy imports from Russia rising from 61% pre-invasion to a staggering 86% in 2024, even as other EU countries have scrambled to reduce their dependence.
The upcoming summit follows a previous Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska in August 2025, which failed to yield any breakthrough in ending the Ukraine war. Trump, who is scheduled to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on October 17, expressed frustration with Putin’s reluctance to negotiate, telling reporters, “I don’t know why he continues with this war. He just doesn’t want to end that war.” After a lengthy phone call with Putin on October 16, Trump wrote on Truth Social, “I believe great progress was made.”
Yet, the choice of Budapest as a venue is fraught with symbolism and tension. The city was the site of the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, where the U.S., U.K., and Russia offered Ukraine security assurances in exchange for giving up its nuclear weapons. Sergiy Gerasymchuk, deputy director of the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Prism think tank, told the Associated Press, “The first thing that came to my mind was, ‘Okay, another Budapest memorandum, another memorandum where Ukraine should give up its interests for nobody knows what.’” For many Ukrainians, the memorandum has become a symbol of broken promises, especially after Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the subsequent invasion.
Orbán’s stance toward Ukraine has been consistently adversarial. He has publicly questioned Ukraine’s independence and sovereignty, echoing Kremlin talking points. In a recent interview cited by Reuters, Orbán remarked, “Let’s suppose they flew a few meters in there [Ukraine], and so what? Ukraine is not an independent country. Ukraine is not a sovereign country. Ukraine is financed by us, the West gives it funds, weapons.” This rhetoric has drawn sharp criticism from Ukrainian officials, with Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accusing Orbán of being “intoxicated by Russian propaganda.”
The Hungarian leader has also been a vocal opponent of Ukraine’s bid to join the European Union, a process that requires unanimous approval from all member states. Orbán stated earlier this month, “Hungary has no moral obligation to support Ukraine’s EU accession. No country has ever blackmailed its way into the European Union — and it won’t happen this time either.” Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, quoted by Interfax, called Hungary’s opposition “dangerous” for the EU, emphasizing that “that’s the sovereign choice of another country. Just as we have no right to interfere in Hungary’s affairs.”
Despite Hungary’s participation in several rounds of EU sanctions against Russia, Orbán has consistently argued for greater economic relief for Moscow. “It’s time to talk about sanctions! Did they bring the war to an end? No. Did they cripple the [Russian] economy? No. Did Europe manage to replace Russian energy from other affordable sources? No,” he said in January. “The sanctions engineered by the Brussels bureaucrats achieved one thing: they destroyed the competitiveness of the European economy.”
Organizing the Budapest summit is not without its challenges. Putin’s visit would require him to fly through the airspace of several NATO countries, a logistical headache given ongoing tensions. While Russian planes are generally banned from EU airspace, member states can grant exceptions. Complicating matters further, Hungary is a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023 for alleged war crimes. Technically, Hungary would be obligated to arrest Putin upon entry. However, Orbán announced in April 2025 that Hungary would begin withdrawing from the ICC, a move that raised eyebrows across Europe, especially after he welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—himself facing an ICC warrant—to Budapest.
For Orbán, the summit is more than just a diplomatic event; it’s a political coup. With national elections looming in April 2026, he is keen to present himself as a global peacemaker. Sergiy Gerasymchuk observed, “Bearing in mind that Viktor Orbán keeps his peacemaking image high on the agenda of the upcoming elections, (the talks) can be a success story. (Orbán) can finally prove that he has achieved something — if not peace in Ukraine, then at least a visit of world leaders to Budapest.” Orbán himself downplayed Hungary’s role in the negotiations, but admitted, “the capital’s hosting of the meeting could be viewed as a political achievement.”
Orbán’s close relationship with Trump is another key factor. He was the first EU leader to endorse Trump’s 2016 presidential bid and has been a consistent ally, earning praise from Trump as “a great man and a very special person.” Orbán, in turn, has lauded Trump’s leadership, declaring earlier this year, “The Trump tsunami swept through the entire world. It gave back hope to the world. We are no longer suffocating in the woke sea.”
Yet, not everyone is celebrating. Péter Krekó, director of the Political Capital think tank in Budapest, told the Associated Press that the summit, held without Ukrainian or EU representation, “appeared to be a ‘huge victory’ for Putin.” Krekó warned, “He can use the platform of a NATO country for these kinds of so-called peace negotiations, and around a table where no leaders are sympathetic toward Ukraine and no leaders seems to be very staunch defenders of the sovereignty of Ukraine.” He added, “They are all hostile to multilateralism. The EU is irrelevant, NATO to a certain extent is irrelevant, the ICC is irrelevant. What matters is when strong men are sitting around the table and deciding over the fate of the world.”
As Budapest prepares for the arrival of two of the world’s most controversial leaders, the stakes for Ukraine, Europe, and Hungary’s own political future could hardly be higher. Whether the summit will bring meaningful progress or simply reinforce existing divisions remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: the world will be watching Hungary very closely in the weeks to come.
