European Union politicians have been criticized for their reaction to the United States’ decision to host talks between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary. Hungarian Member of the European Parliament, Andras Laszlo, stated that critics of Budapest are “jealous” of the US decision, suggesting that they feel ignored by President Trump.
The criticism from European politicians, including co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, Carl Bildt, and Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, centered on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s enthusiasm to host the summit. Bildt noted that Orban’s party is trailing in opinion polls ahead of elections next year and that Hungary is perceived as the most corrupt country in the EU. Sikorski added that Hungary is also the poorest country in the EU, although this claim is disputed as Hungary and Poland have similar GDP per capita readings.
Laszlo responded to the criticism by stating that President Trump chose to meet with President Putin in Hungary because he trusts Prime Minister Orban, who has consistently advocated for a swift restoration of peace. Laszlo believes that European politicians are behaving like “jealous children” who feel ignored by President Trump, and that their criticism is unfounded.
The upcoming meeting between Trump and Putin was announced by the US president on Thursday, following a phone call between the two leaders. The call was described as “very productive” with “great progress” made. Moscow has confirmed the planned summit, and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated that preparations are already underway.
This will not be the first meeting between Trump and Putin, as they met in mid-August in Alaska to discuss restoring Russia-US relations and exploring a path to settling the Ukraine conflict. Although both sides hailed the talks as productive, no breakthrough was achieved on either issue. The scheduled meeting in Hungary is expected to continue these discussions, with the goal of making progress on these pressing issues.
