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Rubio to visit Eastern Europe to strengthen ties with pro-Trump leaders

2026-02-15 15:49:31Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Rubio to visit Eastern Europe to strengthen ties with pro-Trump leaders
Marco Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to embark on a two-day trip this Sunday to strengthen relations with Slovakia and Hungary, whose conservative leaders, often at odds with other European Union countries, have good relations with President Donald Trump.

Rubio will use the visit to discuss energy cooperation and bilateral issues, including commitments to NATO, the State Department said in a statement last week.

"These are countries that are very strong with us, very cooperative with the United States, work very closely with us, and it's a good opportunity to visit them, as two countries I've never been to," Rubio told reporters before departing for Europe on Thursday, Reuters quoted him as saying.

Rubio, who also serves as Trump's national security adviser in his dual role, will meet in Bratislava on Sunday with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who visited Trump in Florida last month. The US diplomat's visit follows his attendance at the Munich Security Conference in recent days.

Meeting with Viktor Orban on Monday

On Monday, Rubio is expected to meet with Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, who is trailing in most polls ahead of April elections, where he could lose power.

“The president has said he is very supportive of him, and so are we,” Rubio said. “But, of course, we would do this visit as a bilateral visit.”

Orban, one of Trump's closest allies in Europe, is considered by many on the American right as a model for the president's tough policies on immigration and support for families and Christian conservatism.

Budapest has consistently hosted Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) events, which bring together conservative activists and leaders, with another planned for March.

Ties with Moscow and clashes with the EU

Both Fico and Orban have clashed with EU institutions over investigations into the weakening of democratic rules.

They have also maintained ties with Moscow, criticized and occasionally delayed the imposition of EU sanctions on Russia, and opposed sending military aid to Ukraine.

Although other EU countries have secured alternative energy supplies after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including buying American natural gas, Slovakia and Hungary have continued to buy Russian gas and oil, a practice the US has criticized.

Rubio said this would be discussed during his short tour, but did not provide details.

Fico, who has described the European Union as an institution in "deep crisis," praised Trump, saying he would bring peace to Europe.

But Fico criticized the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in early January.

Hungary and Slovakia have so far taken a different line from Trump on NATO spending.

They have increased defense spending to the NATO minimum level of 2% of GDP.

Fico, however, has refused to raise the figure above that level for now, even though Trump has repeatedly demanded that all NATO members increase military spending to 5%. Hungary has also planned 2% defense spending in this year's budget.

Regarding nuclear cooperation, Slovakia signed an agreement with the United States last month and Fico has said that the American company Westinghouse is likely to build a new nuclear power plant.

He also said after meeting with the head of French nuclear engineering company Framatome during the week that he would welcome more companies to get involved in the project.


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