Overview
- During a two‑day visit to Rome, Viktor Orbán met Pope Leone XIV and later held talks with Giorgia Meloni at Palazzo Chigi, with official readouts citing Ukraine, the Middle East, EU agenda items, migration and potential cooperation via the EU’s SAFE defense instrument.
- Speaking to Italian newspapers, Orbán said the European Union “counts for nothing” on Ukraine and announced he will seek President Trump’s agreement next week to lift U.S. sanctions on Russian oil, a trip Hungary’s foreign minister said is planned.
- Italian politics reacted sharply, with opposition parties urging Meloni to distance herself from Orbán’s remarks, while Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stressed that Italy’s line differs and that the government stands with Kyiv.
- Orbán also met Matteo Salvini for what Salvini’s office called an “affectionate” meeting focused on peace, criticism of the Green Deal and EU “suicidal” policies, and strong alignment on curbing illegal migration, as reporting pointed to Orbán’s effort to build an anti‑Kyiv bloc with Slovakia’s Robert Fico and Czech nationalist Andrej Babiš.
- A media dispute flared as Orbán’s adviser Balázs Orbán accused La Repubblica of manipulating the interview quotes on sanctions, and the newspaper replied that its images and the premier’s statements support what it published.