Russia-Ukraine live: Putin "understands" Kyiv needs security guarantees
Trump ally Viktor Orban, the Russia-friendly Hungarian prime minister who has long been a right-wing outsider within European Union politics, welcomed the new White House national security strategy, which warned Europe faces "civilizational erasure" due to mass migration—one of Orban's core beliefs. He also welcomed a strategic reset with Russia.The strategy sharply criticized European economic policy, particularly what it says is overregulation, and democratic backsliding on "basic" values such as freedom of speech. The U.S. now has a policy of actively cultivating opposition to the EU among Trump's political allies within countries such as Hungary, Poland, and Austria. EU leaders rejected much of the strategy's characterizations of European problems and said its leaders would handle their own internal affairs, including the state of their democracies.In a post on X, Orban, who is facing a tough re-election battle in 2026, called it the "most important and most interesting document of recent years"."The Americans also see that Europe has hit the wall of a long economic dead end. A weak ally cannot defend itself and cannot be relied upon in international affairs either," Orban said."They see Europe’s civilisational crisis as well. They see that Europe’s civilisational values, democracy, and the free market are all in danger. They also see that European liberals have burned the network of relations that once existed with Russia, which was a mistake."According to American decision makers, Europe’s relationship with Russia needs to be rebuilt at a strategic level."In summary: America has a precise understanding of Europe’s decline. They see the civilisational-scale decline that we in Hungary have been fighting against for fifteen years. At last, we are not fighting against it alone."
