{"id":43778,"date":"2026-04-07T11:49:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T11:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=43778"},"modified":"2026-04-07T11:49:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T11:49:07","slug":"viktor-orban-told-putin-i-am-at-your-service-in-october-phone-call-viktor-orban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=43778","title":{"rendered":"Viktor Orb\u00e1n told Putin \u2018I am at your service\u2019 in October phone call | Viktor Orb\u00e1n"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Hungary\u2019s Viktor Orb\u00e1n offered to go to great lengths to help Vladimir Putin<\/a>, telling the Russian leader \u201cI am at your service\u201d in an October call, it has emerged, prompting further scrutiny of Budapest\u2019s ties to the Kremlin just as JD Vance arrived in the city.<\/p>\n

Air Force Two landed in Budapest<\/a> on Tuesday morning carrying the US vice-president and his wife, Usha Vance, as Hungary reaches the final, heated days of a hard-fought election campaign that has played out against a backdrop of scandals regarding the relationship<\/a> between Budapest and Moscow.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>The Hungarian foreign minister, P\u00e9ter Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3 (right), welcomes JD Vance (second from right) and his wife, Usha (third from right), as they arrive in Budapest on Tuesday.<\/span> Photograph: Jonathan Ernst\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On Tuesday, Bloomberg News said it had obtained<\/a> a Hungarian government transcript of a call that took place between Orb\u00e1n and Putin on 17 October, in which Orb\u00e1n reportedly compared the relationship to that of a \u201cmouse\u201d standing ready to help the Russian \u201clion\u201d as needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday our friendship rose to such a high level that I can help in any way,\u201d Orb\u00e1n reportedly told Putin in the call. \u201cIn any matter where I can be of assistance, I am at your service.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an attempt to emphasise his point, Orb\u00e1n was said to have made reference to one of Aesop\u2019s fables in which a mouse who was earlier shown mercy by a lion goes on to free the same lion when it is netted by hunters. The remark drew a laugh from Putin, the transcript suggested.<\/p>\n

Orb\u00e1n, the rightwing populist who has sought to turn Hungary<\/a> into what he calls an \u201cilliberal democracy\u201d, is the EU\u2019s most Moscow-friendly leader, leading some critics to refer to him<\/a> as Putin\u2019s Trojan horse.<\/p>\n

The most recent revelation heightens the questions<\/a> that have swirled in recent weeks regarding the lengths that the US and Russia are going to in order to bolster Orb\u00e1n as he trails in the polls.<\/p>\n

Donald Trump has repeatedly endorsed Orb\u00e1n, describing him as a \u201cfantastic guy\u201d and a \u201cstrong and powerful leader\u201d, while his administration has dispatched Vance seemingly in an attempt to turn the tide on Orb\u00e1n\u2019s lagging campaign. Russian intelligence agencies, along with disinformation networks with links to Russia<\/a>, are alleged to be working to sway the election.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>Viktor Orb\u00e1n and Vladmir Putin at the Senate Palace in Moscow in November last year.<\/span> Photograph: Alexander Nemenov\/AP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As Hungarians prepare to vote at the weekend, most polls have suggested Orb\u00e1n is facing an unprecedented challenge<\/a> from P\u00e9ter Magyar, a former top member of Orb\u00e1n\u2019s Fidesz party, raising the prospect that Orb\u00e1n could be ousted after 16 years in power.<\/p>\n

The prospect has mobilised rightwing<\/a> leaders around the world, catapulting the election in this central European country of about 9.5 million people on to the global stage.<\/p>\n

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The election is also being closely followed across the EU. Last week, several leaders expressed outrage<\/a> over leaked audio that appeared to capture Hungary\u2019s foreign minister, P\u00e9ter Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3, telling his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, that he would work to amend the EU sanctions list to its liking.<\/p>\n

In the call revealed on Tuesday, Putin reportedly praised Hungary\u2019s \u201cindependent and flexible\u201d stance on his war against Ukraine. \u201cIt is incomprehensible to us that such a balanced, middle-ground position only generates counterarguments,\u201d said the Russian president, according to the transcript.<\/p>\n

The call ended with the two leaders inquiring about one another\u2019s health. \u201cI exercise, I also ski. I know you play football,\u201d the Russian president said, according to the transcript. \u201cI try,\u201d Orb\u00e1n replied, drawing laughter from both men.<\/p>\n

Orb\u00e1n then thanked Putin for the call, saying goodbye to him in Russian, it was reported.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Hungary\u2019s Viktor Orb\u00e1n offered to go to great lengths to help Vladimir Putin, telling the Russian leader \u201cI am at your service\u201d in an October call,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/43779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}