Trump is ‘deeply committed to your success’, Rubio tells Orbán during Hungary visit – Europe live | Europe

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Senior Ukrainian and Russian officials are to meet this week in Switzerland for a second round of talks brokered by the Trump administration, days before the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The two-day meeting, kicking off on Tuesday, is expected to mirror negotiations held earlier this month in Abu Dhabi, with representatives from Washington, Kyiv and Moscow in attendance. Despite renewed US efforts to revive diplomacy, hopes for any sudden breakthrough remain low, with Russia continuing to press maximalist demands on Ukraine.

While the Abu Dhabi discussions were largely focused on military ceasefire proposals, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said on Monday the Geneva talks would address a “broader range of issues”, including territorial questions and other demands put forward by Moscow.

Vladimir Medinsky, an arch-conservative Putin adviser who has previously questioned Ukrainian sovereignty, will head Russia’s negotiating team. He will be joined by Igor Kostyukov, the chief of Russian military intelligence, and the deputy foreign minister Mikhail Galuzin, among nearly two dozen officials, Moscow has said. Ukraine is expected to send the same delegation as in earlier rounds, to be led in Geneva by Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council.

The choice of Switzerland marks the first time the talks will be held on European soil after earlier rounds in Abu Dhabi and Istanbul.

The choice of Geneva appears to have been pushed by Washington. The Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who are expected to lead US engagement with Russia and Ukraine, are scheduled to hold separate meetings with Iranian officials in the city later this week.

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Talks between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron over creating a joint European nuclear deterrent are at an early stage and not aimed at diminishing the role of the US, a German government spokesperson was quoted by the Reuters news agency as having said earlier today.

“The aim of the talks is to explore how closer cooperation on nuclear deterrence can be achieved … The talks are still in the very early stages,” the spokesperson told reporters.

“This is not about replacing the US protective shield, but rather supplementing and strengthening it … The United States plays a central role in Nato’s nuclear deterrence. That is the case now, and we want it to remain so in the future,” he added.

European leaders are increasingly looking to carve an independent path after a year of unprecedented upheaval in transatlantic ties, while also striving to maintain their alliance with Washington, which is still so important for the operation of the continent’s current defence systems as well as intelligence and security apparatus.

While Germany is banned from developing a nuclear weapon under international agreements, France is the EU’s only nuclear power, after the UK’s departure from the bloc, and has the world’s fourth-largest stockpile.

Emmanuel Macron (L), Friedrich Merz (C) and the UK’s prime minister Keir Starmer during their trilateral meeting at the Munich Security Conference on 13 February 2026. Photograph: WPA/Getty ImagesShare

For an analysis of what Marco Rubio’s speech at the Munich Security Conference really meant, you can read this insightful opinion piece by Nathalie Tocci, a Guardian Europe columnist:

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To read more about the political mood in Hungary and the campaigning tactics ahead of the country’s consequential parliamentary elections in April, you can read this informative opinion piece by András Bíró-Nagy, a senior research fellow at the ELTE Centre for Social Sciences in Budapest and author of ‘The Path of Hungary’s EU Membership’.

Here is an extract from the piece, which examines the campaign promises of both Viktor Orbán and Péter Magyar, the opposition challenger leading the polls and riding a sense of momentum ahead of the vote:

Everything Orbán presents as dangerous – European military support for Ukraine, migrants, expanding LGBTQ+ rights – is lumped together as the “Brussels path”.

By contrast, peace, a migration-free country and the rejection of “gender ideology” are framed as the uniquely “Hungarian path”. The choice, voters are told, is civilisational, a message that echoes the Trump administration’s warning about European liberal democracy.

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Updated at 07.35 EST

Rubio was asked about Hungary’s deepening cooperation with China, a strategic rival of the US. The secretary of state answered by saying countries are meant to act in their individual national interests, even if that jars with the interest of an ally. Rubio said:

We are not asking any country in the world to isolate themselves from anybody. We understand that every country in the world has to deal with the reality of their geography, of their economy, of their history, and of the challenges of their future.

We will obviously share with partners and friends concerns we may have about certain things …

We have trade and relations with China. The president of the United States is going to travel in April to China. Why? Because China is a big country, it has a billion and something people, the second largest economy in the world, they have nuclear weapons. It is insane for the United States and China not to have relations and interact with one another.

Two big countries like this, do we have differences? We absolutely do, and we’ll have to manage those differences.

Hungary has become an important trade and investment partner for China, with Budapest keen to attract Chinese investment and has offered tax incentives and infrastructural support to do so.

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Updated at 07.16 EST

Rubio says US seems to be ‘only nation on earth’ to get Ukraine and Russia to talk to end the war

Taking questions from journalists, Rubio says that the US seems to be the “only nation on earth” that can get Ukrainian and Russian representatives “to the table to talk” to try to bring an end to the war.

“I’m not here to insult anybody but the United Nations hasn’t been able to do it. There are no other country in Europe that has been able to do it,” Rubio said.

He added:

We are not seeking to impose a deal on anybody. We are not trying to force anybody to take a deal they don’t want to take.

We just want to help them. Because we think it is a war that is incredibly damaging, we think it is a war that is incredibly destructive.

Rubio said that Trump has invested a “tremendous amount of time and political capital” to end the war. So far negotiations have faltered, with a few key sticking points remaining, notably on territory, as Russia sticks to its maximalist demands.

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Updated at 06.57 EST

Rubio said the US granting Hungary a one-year exemption from US sanctions for using Russian oil and gas last year was because of the strong relationship between Trump and Orbán.

“It was because of that personal relationship, it’s because we want this economy to prosper, we want this country to do well. It’s in our national interest, especially as long as you are the prime minister and the leader of this country.”

Hungary has maintained its reliance on Russian energy since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, prompting criticism from several EU and Nato allies.

Marco Rubio and Viktor Orbán hold a joint news conference in Budapest. Photograph: Alex Brandon/APShare

Updated at 07.18 EST

Trump is ‘deeply committed to your success’, Rubio tells Orbán

Rubio said the personal connection between Trump and Orbán is behind the strong relationship between the US and Hungary. He said:

We are entering this golden era of relations between our countries and not simply because of the alignment of our people.

But because of the relationship that you have with the President of the United States.

I don’t think it is any mystery and it should not be a mystery to anyone here how the president feels about you, how he interacted with you in his first term as president and now in his second term as president that relationship has grown even closer …

I can say to you with confidence that President Trump is deeply committed to your success.

Because your success is our success. Because this relationship we have here in central Europe through you is so essential and vital for our national interests in the years to come.

If you face financial struggles, if you face things that are impediments to growth, if you face things that threaten the stability of your country, I know that President Trump would be very interested because of your relationship with him and because of the importance of this country to us.

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Updated at 06.44 EST

Rubio dismisses perceptions by some that Hungary is being isolated on the international stage, pointing to US companies investing in the country due to its “strong leadership” that he says promotes a business friendly environment. Rubio singled energy out as a particular area where the two countries can cooperate on.

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Updated at 06.22 EST

US-Hungary relations are as close as ‘I can possibly imagine’, Rubio says

Marco Rubio is up next. He starts by saying Budapest is an “incredibly gorgeous city”, admitting it is the first time he has visited the Hungarian capital.

Echoing Orbán’s “golden age” line, the US secretary of state said:

The relationship between the United States and Hungary is as close as I can possibly imagine it being. And it is not just close rhetorically, it is close in action and things that are actually happening.

I think some evidence of that is in the agreement we have just signed that builds on a historic meeting that we had in November at the White House …

The signed agreement we have had today is one that we hope will be many in the years to come.

Marco Rubio repeatedly stressed the closeness of the relationship between Washington and Budapest during the press conference. Photograph: Alex Brandon/APShare

Updated at 07.19 EST

Hungary backs US peace efforts in Ukraine, Orbán says

Orbán said Hungary will “continue to support the peace efforts” the US is leading on to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

“If Donald Trump had been the president of the United States this war wouldn’t have broken out,” he told journalists.

“And if he were not the president now then we would not even stand a chance to put an end to the war with peace.”

Orbán added that Hungary “remains ready” to provide a venue for a peace summit in Budapest, if this is possible.

Hungary has been at odds with other western countries over Orbán’s maintenance of ties to Russia and refusal to send arms to Ukraine.

Hungary has pushed back against plans by the European Commission to phase out the EU’s imports of all Russian gas and LNG by the end of 2027, deepening a rift with Brussels over relations with Moscow.

ShareRelations between the US and Hungary are in ‘a new golden age’, Orbán says

Orbán said they “reviewed and overviewed” their bilateral relationships as there is a “new” US president, who the Hungarian leader says he is also having to adapt to.

A new golden age has set upon us concerning the relationship between the United States and Hungary.

We operate with understatements in the Hungarian language and in Hungarian politics …

I cannot remember – although for 30 odd years I have been present in politics – when the last time it was that the relationships between the two nations were at such a high level, so balanced and so friendly. So my heartfelt thanks go to President Trump.

Orbán said 17 US “investments” have “been decided upon” in Hungary since last January, a decades-long record he said, adding that he is grateful for Hungarians being allowed to travel to the US without a visa.

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Updated at 06.03 EST

He started off by saying himself and Rubio had a “friendly and very serious” discussion.

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Updated at 05.53 EST

The Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán is now making some remarks.

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