Putin visits Hungary, his 1st trip to EU since US election

On his first trip to the European Union since the US presidential election, Russian President Vladimir Putin today visited Hungary, the nation whose leader has cozied up to Moscow despite Russia-West tensions.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a populist dubbed "little Putin" by his opponents, has been critical of the US and of EU sanctions imposed on Russia for its actions in Ukraine.
Speaking ahead of Putin's visit, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said the EU sanctions against Russia have failed to achieve their objective and have cost Hungary some USD 6.7 billion in export opportunities.
He also noted what he described as the previous US administration's pressure on Hungary to prevent it from warming up to Moscow.

"The whole world is noticeably holding its breath while waiting to see if there will be rapprochement ... In American-Russian relations and if so, to what depth and dimension," Szijjarto said.
US President Donald Trump has promised to mend ties with Russia, which have sunk to post-Cold War lows over the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria and allegations of Russia's meddling in the 2016 US election.

For the first time since his inauguration, Trump on Saturday had a phone call with Putin, which both the White House and the Kremlin described in strongly positive terms.
"If American pressure has been taken off European countries in terms of the sanctions and there seems to be a good chance for this I believe all of those who emphasized pragmatic relations and talked about the need to reevaluate the sanctions will be more courageous and that will be a new basis for debate," Szijjarto said.

Hungary has also voiced hope for better ties with Washington under Trump. Orban had criticised the Obama administration for what he described as attempts to influence Hungary's domestic policies, such as a ban on entering the US for six Hungarians, including the then-head of the Hungarian tax office, because of corruption allegations.