(Bloomberg) -- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he met with President-elect Donald Trump on Monday, a sit-down between two populist leaders that could spur worries in some foreign capitals about Trump’s approach to the war in Ukraine.
Joining them in the meetings at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s club in south Florida, were billionaire Elon Musk and US House Representative Mike Waltz of Florida, the president-elect’s incoming national security adviser, according to a post from Orban’s verified account on Musk’s social-platform X.
“The future has begun!” the Hungarian leader said.
Orban, a nationalist leader criticized for his illiberal approaches to governing, has been one of Trump’s most prominent international supporters and like Trump, a staunch critic of aid to Ukraine in its fight to repel Russia’s invasion.
The visit came days after Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron held a joint meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Paris on Saturday, which Macron had convened to try to initiate a discussion on ending the war in Ukraine.
Trump during the campaign said he would push Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate a deal to end the war — one that could leave parts of Ukraine’s territory occupied by Russia in Moscow’s hands.
The Trump transition team didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment about the Orban meeting.
The Hungarian leader’s government has cultivated ties with Trump and his allies for years. Orban was the first European premier to endorse Trump during his first presidential campaign and also called for his return to the White House, arguing that only the Republican could end the war.
Many of Trump’s incoming administration are skeptics of Ukraine aid, including his pick for secretary of State, Senator Marco Rubio, and his selection for special envoy to Ukraine and Russia, Keith Kellogg. Kellogg is a retired Army general who has called for cutting off military aid to Ukraine.
Orban is the latest foreign leader to meet with Trump ahead of his inauguration in January, as foreign capitals grapple with his second term and potential US shifts in policy.
Since the election, Trump has also met with Argentine President Javier Milei and with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who visited Trump at Mar-a-Lago in November after the president-elect threatened to hit Canada, Mexico and China with fresh tariffs if they did not do more to stem the flow of drugs and migrants across US borders.
--With assistance from Hadriana Lowenkron.
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