US Vice President JD Vance welcomed the sudden temporary ceasefire in Iran but used the second day of his visit to Hungary to focus on the war in Ukraine and its impact on Budapest. Touring the country days before Prime Minister Viktor Orban seeks a sixth term, Vance echoed several of Orban’s campaign themes.
Vance said the Trump administration had made “significant progress” toward brokering a halt to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and an accord between Kyiv and Moscow, but conceded the conflict had been “the hardest war to solve.” “In some ways we thought it would be the easiest, but it has been the hardest,” he said. He added he was optimistic an end could be brokered “because fundamentally this war has stopped making sense,” but noted “it takes two to tango,” asking whether haggling over a few square kilometers was worth more death and economic damage.
He criticized many European leaders for not appearing “particularly interested in solving this particular conflict,” while praising Orban — who has retained closer ties to Moscow than most NATO leaders — as the most helpful European leader in US diplomatic efforts. “The most helpful has been Viktor, because Viktor is the one who encouraged us to truly understand this, to understand from the perspective of both the Ukrainians and the Russians what is necessary for them to end the conflict,” Vance said.
Orban has made criticism of the EU and Kyiv a cornerstone of his campaign. His domestic difficulties stem largely from corruption scandals and a longrunning child sex abuse scandal in state institutions rather than his foreign policy. His main rival, Peter Magyar, a former nationalist ally and breakaway figure, has focused on domestic issues and has not signaled wholesale change in foreign policy.
Tensions between Hungary and Ukraine have risen in recent weeks amid disruptions to Russian oil deliveries via a pipeline that runs through Ukraine. Ukraine says Russian bombardment damaged the pipeline; Hungary doubts this and was granted an exemption to EU sanctions on Russian oil because of high dependence. Orban is blocking a major EU loan package for Ukraine originally agreed in December, citing energy concerns. Vance raised the pipeline dispute during his visit.
Vance called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s response to Orban’s blockage “scandalous” after Zelenskyy intimated he could give Ukraine’s military Orban’s address. Over Easter, Serbia and Hungary said explosives were found near the Balkan Stream gas pipeline; Ukraine denied knowledge of the alleged case.
Before campaigning with Orban, Vance accused the EU of “disgraceful” election meddling in Hungary and called it “one of the worst examples of foreign election interference that I’ve ever seen or ever even read about.” At a later rally he told supporters, “we have got to get Viktor Orban re-elected.”
The Kremlin, via spokesman Dmitry Peskov, echoed Vance’s comments, suggesting forces in Europe would prefer Orban not win and that actions against him played into those forces’ hands. Several allegations of improper ties between Budapest and Moscow have surfaced this year. In Berlin, a government spokesperson rejected Vance’s interference claims and suggested his presence in Hungary illustrated who was intervening.
Most polls put Orban behind Peter Magyar’s Tisza, though government-aligned institutes sometimes give Fidesz the lead; the race appears to be Orban’s sternest challenge in years. Orban, 62, served as prime minister from 1998–2002, led the opposition for two legislative terms, then returned to office in 2010 and has held the post since. Magyar’s campaign focuses on domestic issues like corruption and the abuse scandal rather than foreign policy.
Edited by: Kieran Burke