US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Hungary next week, the US State Department announced on Monday, after the country's President Donald Trump supported right-wing leader Viktor Orban, who is trailing in polls ahead of April elections, AFP reports, writes UNN.
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Rubio will visit Hungary and Slovakia, also led by a right-wing Trump ally, after speaking at the Munich Security Conference, where last year US Vice President J.D. Vance criticized the European Union and supported the far-right on the continent.
Rubio, often seen as a more civilized face of the Trump administration, will represent the United States in Munich this year instead of Vance.
The trip comes amid a new rise in tensions between the United States and the European Union after Trump mused about annexing Greenland from Denmark, a NATO ally.
In Budapest, Rubio "will meet with key Hungarian officials to strengthen our shared bilateral and regional interests, including our commitment to peaceful processes for resolving global conflicts and the US-Hungary energy partnership," said US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott.
Orban is a rare European Union leader who has warm relations with the Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, and has often resisted EU initiatives to support Ukraine, the publication writes.
Orban had planned a summit between Trump and Putin last year, which was canceled as US officials became convinced that Russia was unlikely to compromise on the war.
Last week, Trump endorsed Orban in a social media post, calling the longest-serving national leader of the European Union "a true friend, fighter, and winner."
But Orban faces an unprecedented challenge in his bid for a fifth consecutive term on April 12, as polls show him trailing the party of Peter Magyar, a former government insider turned critic.
Orban became a hero to many Trump supporters due to his hostility to migration during the Syrian refugee crisis a decade ago.
When Orban visited the White House last year, Trump granted Hungary an exemption from sanctions on Russian oil and gas imports.
In Slovakia, Prime Minister Robert Fico has also found common cause with Trump.
But Fico's recent visit to Florida to meet Trump caused a stir when Politico, citing unnamed European diplomats, reported that Fico expressed concern about the US president's mental state. Both countries denied this version.
During his visit to Bratislava, Rubio "will meet with key members of the Slovak government to advance shared regional security interests, strengthen bilateral cooperation in nuclear energy and energy diversification, and support the modernization of Slovakia's military forces and NATO commitments," the US State Department spokesman said.
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Meanwhile, US Vice President J.D. Vance arrived in Armenia on Monday, ahead of a planned trip to Azerbaijan, as Washington seeks to consolidate the peace process between the neighbors.
Vance is the highest-ranking US official to visit Armenia, where he is also expected to promote a flagship project to improve road and rail infrastructure in the region.
His visit to Armenia – until recently a close ally of Russia – comes amid Moscow's diminishing influence in the region following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
At a White House summit in August 2025, US President Donald Trump brokered a deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan, under which the two countries pledged to renounce claims to each other's territory and refrain from using force.
On Monday, Vance held talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and will travel to the Azerbaijani capital Baku on Tuesday.
"We are not just creating peace for Armenia. We are also together creating true prosperity for Armenia and the United States," Vance said at a press conference with Pashinyan.
He announced the sale of $11 million worth of US drone technology to Armenia.
Pashinyan called the visit "truly historic" and said he had "great hope" that US President Donald Trump would "rightfully" receive the Nobel Peace Prize for mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process.
They also signed a civilian nuclear energy agreement, which Pashinyan said would "open a new chapter in deepening the energy partnership between Armenia and the United States."
The US State Department said the visit "will advance President Donald Trump's peace efforts and promote the 'Trump's Road to International Peace and Prosperity' (TRIPP)."
US officials say the visit will also strengthen regional ties and support American commercial interests by opening new supply chains that bypass Russia and Iran.