"Putin's mouse": leaked phone call reveals lengths Orbán was willing to go to help Russia – Bloomberg
Bloomberg has reviewed a transcript of a phone call between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin last autumn in which Orbán assured Putin of his friendship and offered his assistance in resolving the war in Ukraine.
Source: Bloomberg, as reported by European Pravda
Details: During the call, which took place on 17 October, Orbán told Putin he was "willing to go to great lengths" to help him, offering to facilitate a settlement of the war in Ukraine by holding a summit in Budapest.
"Yesterday our friendship rose to such a high level that I can help in any way. In any matter where I can be of assistance, I am at your service," Orbán said.
To illustrate his point, Orbán referred to a children's fable he said was popular in Hungary, in which a mouse frees a lion caught in a net after the lion had previously spared its life.
According to the transcript, this remark made Putin laugh.
Much of the conversation was reportedly spent exchanging compliments and praising US President Donald Trump.
Orbán noted that his friendship with Putin had grown stronger since it began in St Petersburg in 2009.
"The more friends we make, the more possibilities we have to resist our adversaries," he said.
He also expressed regret that he and Putin had not been able to meet regularly in person, as they did before the COVID-19 pandemic.
These remarks have been confirmed by a source familiar with the conversation.
Putin expressed admiration for Hungary's "independent and flexible" position on his war against Ukraine. "It is incomprehensible to us that such a balanced, middle-ground position only generates counter arguments," Putin said.
According to the transcript, the main purpose of the October call was to discuss the possibility of holding a US-Russia meeting in Hungary. The proposed Budapest summit did not take place.
Background:
- Details of the Orbán-Putin call emerged amid the leak of a conversation between Hungary's Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
- On 31 March, the media published audio recordings that shed light on their interaction amid allegations that Budapest may have passed details of closed-door EU discussions to Moscow.
- One topic of the conversation was Szijjártó's lobbying for the removal of Gulbakhor Ismailova, sister of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, from the EU sanctions list.
- Szijjártó responded with further criticism of the EU's sanctions policy against Russia and said he regularly consults and has consulted with the foreign ministers of many non-EU countries regarding sanctions.
- The European Commission recalled that Szijjártó had previously received warnings about the inadmissibility of disclosing information from EU Council meetings.
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