A transcript of a phone call between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin, reviewed by Bloomberg, shows Orbán declaring personal loyalty to the Russian president during a conversation on 17 October. Its content is being reported for the first time.
"Yesterday our friendship rose to such a high level that I can help in any way," Orbán said, according to the transcript. "In any matter where I can be of assistance, I am at your service."
To underline the point, Orbán invoked an Aesop fable he described as popular in Hungary, in which a mouse frees a lion caught in a net after the lion had earlier spared it. The remark drew a laugh from Putin, the transcript shows.
The call lasted less than 15 minutes and was conducted in Hungarian and Russian with translation. Spokespeople for Orbán and Putin did not respond to requests for comment, Bloomberg reports. The transcript was corroborated by a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified.
"Perhaps the only" acceptable venue
The main subject of the call was the possibility of Hungary hosting a meeting between the United States and Russia. Both leaders had spoken to US President Donald Trump the previous day on the same topic.
Putin told Orbán that Hungary was one of the few, "perhaps the only," European country acceptable as a venue, adding that Trump considered it appropriate because Orbán was a friend to both presidents, according to the transcript. Putin then outlined a sequence of steps toward the event, starting with a potential meeting between Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The Rubio-Lavrov meeting did not take place, and the Budapest summit was ultimately not held after the US and Russia failed to agree on Moscow's terms over Ukraine.
Putin praised Hungary's "independent and flexible" stance on the war. "It is incomprehensible to us that such a balanced, middle-ground position only generates counter arguments," he said, according to the transcript.
Both leaders were complimentary about Trump. Orbán described admiring his "tornado"-style approach. "As they say, he moves forward like a tank," Putin said. "It works for him, and you can only feel joy about it."
Orbán recalled that his friendship with Putin dated to a first meeting in St. Petersburg in 2009. "The more friends we make, the more possibilities we have to resist our adversaries," he said, according to the transcript.
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The call opened with Orbán wishing Putin a happy birthday — the Russian president had turned 73 earlier that month — and closed with both men asking after each other's health. "I exercise, I also ski. I know you play football," Putin said. "I try," Orbán replied, to the laughter of both men.
Second disclosure in a week, as Hungary votes Sunday
The disclosure comes days before Hungary's parliamentary election on 12 April, in which Orbán faces opposition leader Péter Magyar, a former government insider. Opinion polls indicate Orbán could be ousted after 16 years in power. Magyar has pledged to steer Hungary toward the European mainstream and away from Moscow.
The October transcript follows a separate leak published last week by a consortium of investigative outlets including The Insider and VSquare: a recording of Szijjártó discussing the removal of a Russian billionaire's sister from EU sanctions with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Szijjártó attributed that recording to foreign intelligence services and said his opposition to EU sanctions is not a secret. A Washington Post report, citing a European security official, also alleged that Szijjártó routinely briefed Lavrov on private EU foreign ministers' discussions in Brussels.
Hungary continues to import Russian energy while the EU phases it out, is obstructing a €90 billion EU loan to Kyiv, and last month authorities seized currency being transferred overland from Austria to Ukraine. Orbán and Putin spoke again as recently as 3 March, when Putin hailed "Hungary's principled stance" on Ukraine, according to a Kremlin readout.
US Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to visit Budapest on Tuesday as the election enters its final stretch. Trump has endorsed Orbán.
