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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was on an official visit on Monday, 11 February in Budapest. He warned the Hungarian government against the growing influence of Russia and China in Hungary. Relations between the United States and Hungary warmed after Donald Trump arrived at the White House. The Hungarian prime minister said the US president was an icon for sovereignists. But now, since 2014 Orban continues to preach "the opening to the East" of his country.
With our correspondent in Budapest, Florence La Bruyère
Mike Pompeo did not mince his words. " The Russians and the Chinese have finally gained more influence here, but they do not share the American ideals that are so important to us ," the US secretary of state told reporters in Budapest.
Washington is alarmed by Chinese penetration in Hungary. For example, the recent agreement between Budapest and Chinese telecom giant Huawei, which will develop the 5G network in Hungary. The US administration suspects the Chinese operator to spy on Beijing.
Washington is also worried about Viktor Orban's rapprochement with Vladimir Putin. The two men see each other regularly and the Hungarian Prime Minister is a strong supporter of the two Russian gas pipeline projects, Nordstream and Turkstream. But for Washington, Russia is an energy octopus that cannibalize the European market, to the detriment of US gas producers.
Mike Pompeo ended his visit with a tête-à-tête dinner with Viktor Orban. Nothing has filtered from this interview, but according to an American diplomat, Hungary is becoming an increasingly unpredictable ally.