Pre-election Theater: Orbán’s Gift Shop for Putin After a Trump Meet-and-Greet
U.S. President Donald Trump hosts a bilateral lunch with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Vice President JD Vance, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 7, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Source: Author’s Facebook page
Orbán’s Washington visit is classic pre-election theater: Ukraine takes center stage, while corruption scandals and widespread Hungarian fatigue with the prime minister are shoved backstage.
-
Orbán sold Trump on the idea of transferring Hungary’s nuclear power plant from Russian TVEL to American Westinghouse. Trump, as a pre-election gift, offered Orbán a “sanctions exemption.” Most importantly, Trump said he would not oppose Orbán acting as another mediator in negotiations with Putin.
-
Does Orbán actually have a real offer for Putin? Clearly, no. This is all hot air, because Putin’s position remains unchanged: the contact line is the new border. This isn’t a story about peace—it’s about Orbán staging his pre-election theater.
-
What’s the essence of this game? In short, Orbán will campaign under the slogan: “It’s all the Ukrainians’ fault for refusing peace,” despite his “best efforts.” He needs the illusion of active engagement to boost his election campaign. A summit in Budapest is still theoretically possible (given Putin’s stance), but its likelihood is extremely low.
-
Will Trump play along? Only partially. This creates a real challenge for us, as we may not be able to confront Orbán so openly.
-
It is also important to note that Ukraine has always been and remains the main “enemy” in Orbán’s election campaign—only the emphasis may shift slightly.
In conclusion, it should be emphasized that there is no real talk of a peace summit. For now, this is entirely Orbán’s election strategy, and all state-level communications should be interpreted from this perspective.
It was previously reported that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán managed to secure a one-year postponement of sanctions related to the use of Russian oil and gas from the United States. This came as a result of a meeting between Orbán and US President Donald Trump, which took place on November 7. The agreement provides that Hungary will also purchase American liquefied natural gas worth about $600 million.
Also, follow “Pryamyi” on Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, and Instagram.
• Materials published in the “OPINIONS” section reflect the opinion of the author of the publication, who bears full responsibility for the accuracy of the information.
• The editorial staff of prm.ua may not share the opinions expressed in the author’s material.
• The owner of the webpage in the “OPINIONS” section is the author of the publication.