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U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is acceptable to statesman a two-day travel connected Sunday (February 15, 2026), to bolster ties with Slovakia and Hungary, whose blimpish leaders, often astatine likelihood with different European Union countries, person warm ties with President Donald Trump.
Mr. Rubio volition usage the travel to sermon vigor cooperation and bilateral issues, including NATO commitments, the State Department said successful an announcement past week.
"These are countries that are precise beardown with us, precise cooperative with the United States, enactment precise intimately with us, and it's a good accidental to spell spot them and 2 countries I've ne'er been in," Mr. Rubio told reporters earlier departing for Europe connected Thursday (February 12, 2026).
Mr. Rubio, who successful his dual relation also serves arsenic Mr. Trump’s nationalist information adviser, volition conscionable successful Bratislava connected Sunday (February 15) with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who visited Mr. Trump successful Florida past month. The U.S. diplomat's travel follows his information successful the Munich Security Conference implicit the past fewer days.
Will conscionable Viktor Orban connected Moday
On Monday (February 15, 2026), Mr. Rubio is expected to conscionable with Hungarian person Viktor Orban, who is trailing successful astir polls up of an election
in April erstwhile helium could beryllium voted retired of power. "The President said he's precise supportive of him, and truthful are we," Mr. Rubio said. "But evidently we were going to bash that sojourn s a bilateral visit."
Mr. Orban, 1 of Mr. Trump's closest allies successful Europe, is considered by galore connected the American hard close arsenic a exemplary for the U.S. president's pugnacious policies connected migration and enactment for families and Christian conservatism. Budapest has repeatedly hosted Conservative Political Action Conference events, which bring unneurotic blimpish activists and leaders, with different owed successful March.
Ties with Moscow and clashes with E.U.
Both Mr. Fico and Mr. Orban person clashed with E.U. institutions implicit probes into backsliding connected antiauthoritarian rules. They person besides maintained ties with Moscow, criticised and astatine times delayed the imposition of E.U. sanctions connected Russia , and opposed sending subject assistance to Ukraine.
Even arsenic different European Union countries person secured alternate vigor supplies aft Moscow invaded Ukraine successful 2022, including by buying U.S. earthy gas, Slovakia and Hungary person besides continued to bargain Russian state and oil, a signifier the United States has criticised.
Mr. Rubio said this would beryllium discussed during his little tour, but did not springiness immoderate details. Mr. Fico, who has described the European Union arsenic an instauration that is successful “deep crisis”, has showered Mr. Trump with praise saying helium would bring bid backmost to Europe.
But Mr. Fico criticised the U.S. seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro successful aboriginal January. Hungary and Slovakia person besides truthful acold diverged from Mr. Trump connected NATO spending. They person raised defence spending to NATO's minimum threshold of 2% of GDP.
Mr. Fico has, however, refused to rise expenditure supra that level for now, adjacent though Mr. Trump has repeatedly asked each NATO members to summation their subject spending to 5%. Hungary has besides planned for 2% defence spending successful this year's budget.
On atomic cooperation, Slovakia signed an statement with the United States last period and Mr. Fico has said U.S.-based Westinghouse was apt to physique a caller atomic powerfulness plant.
He besides said aft gathering the main of France's atomic engineering institution Framatome during the week helium would invited much companies taking portion successful the project.
