BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) 鈥 Sanctions issued by the United States last week against a powerful Hungarian official with close ties to Prime Minister Viktor Orb谩n have 鈥渟trengthened鈥 that official's standing within the populist government, Orb谩n said Friday.
Speaking on state radio, Orb谩n said the U.S. , a senior government minister who leads the prime minister's Cabinet office and is believed by the U.S. Treasury Department to be involved in official corruption, had not shaken his confidence in the minister.
The sanctions against Rog谩n 鈥渟trengthened the minister鈥檚 position in Hungarian politics and in the government to an unprecedented extent," Orb谩n said. 鈥淗e is the minister responsible for the national security services, the number one guardian of Hungarian national sovereignty, and being punished by a great power means that he is doing his job well.鈥
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control suspects Rog谩n of using his position to broker favorable business deals with government-aligned businesspeople, a key aspect of penalties against Hungary that have withheld billions in funding over official corruption concerns.
Speaking at a news conference in Budapest last week, U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman, who left his post days later ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, said Rog谩n was 鈥渁 primary architect, implementer and beneficiary鈥 of systemic corruption in Hungary, which he described as a 鈥渒leptocratic ecosystem.鈥
Rog谩n oversees the engineering of wide-reaching government communication campaigns that are credited with being instrumental in maintaining Orb谩n鈥檚 power since 2010. Known among critics in Hungary as the 鈥減ropaganda minister,鈥 Rog谩n rarely appears in public or gives interviews, but is a veteran adviser to Orb谩n and also oversees Hungary鈥檚 secret services.
Orb谩n, who supported Trump during his election campaign and is a regular visitor to his Florida headquarters, Mar-a-Lago, predicted Friday that the incoming president would usher in a 鈥済olden age鈥 in U.S.-Hungary relations that had chilled over concerns in Washington that Orb谩n has led Hungary, a member of both the EU and NATO, to abandon democratic principles while pursuing closer ties with Russia and China.
Hungary's steeply contracting economy would also get a boost from Trump's presidency, Orb谩n said, owing to Trump putting an end to the war in neighboring Ukraine 鈥渙n the horizon.鈥
A harsh critic of Ukraine, Orb谩n is widely seen has having the closest relationship with the Kremlin of any EU leader and has vocally opposed economic and military aid to Kyiv and argued against placing sanctions on Moscow for its war.
On Friday, he argued that during the Trump presidency the EU must 鈥渢hrow sanctions out the window and establish a sanctions-free relationship with Russia.鈥
He also said a postwar Ukraine would pose 鈥渁 serious threat to the European economy,鈥 and that Ukraine ultimately achieving its goal of joining the EU would force farmers from all over the bloc out of business.
鈥淓conomic cooperation with Ukrainians raises many issues, and so far I see far more dangers than opportunities,鈥 he said.
