Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on his election victory.
He is confident he will be able to forge a stronger “partnership” with Hungary “despite the difficult international situation,” the Kremlin reported.
Orban’s conservative nationalist party Fidesz won the parliamentary elections by a large margin and retained its two-thirds majority in parliament. He spoke of a victory so big that you can “certainly see it from Brussels”.
The European Commission has been in conflict with Budapest for years over undermining the free press and the rule of law.
Orban has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine but goes less far than his European colleagues. The Hungarian government has supported EU sanctions against the Moscow regime but has declined to take any action that could harm the country.
