'Orban's triumph, Europe's humiliation': EU shocked by Putin-Trump meeting – The Telegraph
The announced summit between US and Russian presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Budapest, scheduled to take place in about two weeks, billed as a "discussion of Ukraine," has unleashed a veritable tsunami of disappointment and outrage in Europe. For Brussels, this is a humiliation; for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, political triumph, writes The Telegraph.
European diplomats are already calling the summit a "blow to the EU," as the US-Russia talks will be held in a country that has repeatedly blocked the bloc's joint decisions on Ukraine and maintains close ties with the Kremlin.
Trump and Washington are doing whatever they want with Europe, which recently regained its belief that allied unity was beginning to be restored. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán now looks like a "cat that got the cream."
- says the publication.
The head of the republic, known for his pro-Russian stance, has been in conflict with Kyiv for many years and opposes the EU sanctions imposed after Russia launched its special operation. He has also stated that he would block Ukraine's accession to the European Union and accused Kyiv of oppressing the Hungarian minority.
Now the Budapest summit will become a symbol of Orbán's political revenge. As the publication notes, "for the prime minister, this is a huge achievement, but for Europe, a humiliation." It's no surprise that the EU's recently revived dreams have been dashed once again, and the continent itself is in mourning.
Orbán is the only EU leader who openly supported Trump during his first term. He remained loyal even during Trump's defeat in 2020, and has now once again become one of the MAGA movement's main allies in Europe.
The American president makes no secret of his sympathy: during his speech at the summit in Egypt, he called Orban a fantastic leader, despite criticism from other European politicians.
Upon returning to the White House, Trump even borrowed some policy initiatives from the Hungarian experience, including conservative gender legislation.
For Europe, hosting a US-Russia summit in a country that does not recognize the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for the Russian leader is seen as a challenge. Hungary withdrew from the ICC this year, making it a safe destination for a visit by a Russian leader the West wants to hold accountable.
The EU, already sidelined in efforts to peacefully resolve the war, sees this move as a demonstrative disregard for its role. Kyiv has been sidelined, the publication writes, and now Europe is being sidelined, too.
Analysts note that the choice of Budapest is not only a gesture of gratitude from Trump to his ally, but also an attempt to demonstrate that the world order can be built without Brussels' participation, but on its territory.
The Budapest summit is not just a diplomatic maneuver, but a demonstrative symbolic reward for Orbán and a simultaneous blow to the EU, which has been trying to isolate him for years, writes The Telegraph.
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