Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban assured Russian dictator Vladimir Putin of his complete loyalty and readiness to fulfill any request during a private conversation.
According to Hvylya, this was reported by Bloomberg, which obtained access to the transcript of their October 17 conversation.
Journalists noted that during the call, Orban compared himself and the Kremlin leader to characters from an Aesop fable. The Hungarian politician called himself a "mouse" who begged a "lion" (Putin) for mercy, promised to repay the favor one day, and ultimately saved him from a hunter's net. The comparison reportedly made the Russian president laugh.
"Our friendship has reached such a high level that I can help with anything," Orban stated, adding that he is always at Putin's service.
Specifically, the Hungarian prime minister promised to help Russia resolve the issue of the war in Ukraine, proposing a special summit in Budapest for this purpose. The two leaders also exchanged compliments and expressed gratitude to US President Donald Trump.
Orban complained that he and Putin have seen each other less frequently since the coronavirus pandemic, despite their friendship only growing stronger since they met in 2009. In response, Putin praised the Hungarian government for its "independent and flexible" position on Ukraine.
This is not the first time Hungary has openly played to Russian interests within the European Union. Media previously published intercepted conversations between Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Russian officials. At Moscow's request, he reportedly managed to exclude 72 companies and individuals from EU sanction lists.
Furthermore, Szijjarto regularly called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during breaks at European summits to leak classified information. As a result, the EU was forced to secretly restrict intelligence sharing with Hungary ahead of the country's upcoming elections on April 12.