Orbán Praises Trump as 'President of Peace' After Meeting

 "We agreed that there will be peace when there are world leaders who want peace. I am proud that Hungary is one of these countries," Orbán said.

Orbán noted that bilateral trade between Hungary and the United States had reached an annual USD 9 billion, but said the sides had agreed that economic ties between the two countries still had "a lot of potential".

"When the President returns we will give a new boost to U.S.-Hungarian trade relations," he added.

Orbán acknowledged that the campaign was "in full swing" in the U.S. and that it was up to Americans to decide on their next president.

 "It's up to us Hungarians to honestly admit that it would be better for the world and better for Hungary if President Donald Trump were to return," he added.

Addressing a gala event after the meeting, Trump called Mr Orban "a great leader" in Europe, respected all over the world.

Trump Has Plan to End War in Ukraine, Orbán Claims

In an interview with public television on Sunday, after returning home, Orbán said he had visited the United States to try to "restore U.S.-Hungarian political friendship".

He said Trump had a "rather detailed plan on how to end the war" in Ukraine, but he remained coy on details, arguing that he wasn't in a position to speak about it. "His plan dovetails with Hungary's interests," he said.

According to news wire Reuters, he also said that Trump "... will not give a penny into the Ukraine-Russia war and therefore the war will end."

Speaking about a presentation he gave at the conservative Heritage Foundation, Orbán said U.S. conservatives viewed Hungary as an "island in a progressive-liberal ocean" in Europe, where policies on public security, migration and family values were successfully implemented. "We've done things that they'd like to do, too, but haven't been able to do," he added. 

He also claimed that the current U.S. administration was giving money to the left-wing opposition, media, and NGOs in Hungary with the aim of achieving a change of government, arguing that those efforts came with an "economic price".

"Current political relations do not support economic cooperation," he said. "We're allies, but not servants," he added.

Orbán Eyeing American Investment in Hungary

Orbán said he and Trump had discussed how to give "a big push" to Hungarian-American economic cooperation.

He said the U.S. decision to terminate the double taxation avoidance treaty with Hungary was a "serious obstacle" to strengthening bilateral ties.

Orbán said that doubling annual bilateral trade between Hungary and the U.S. in a matter of years was a "realistic goal".

"It would mean an awful lot for the Hungarian economy if a United States that was friendly with us and an ally would view Hungary as a priority target for economic investment. Hungary's economy and Hungarian people would benefit greatly from this," he said.

Addressing Hungary's role as a meeting point for technology and capital from the East and the West, Orbán noted that German FDI in Hungary added up to EUR 25 bln, while FDI from the U.S. came to EUR 9 bln and FDI from China reached EUR 9 bln.

"Today, Chinese and American investments in Hungary are the same, but the Chinese investments are growing, while the American ones have got stuck. If America wants to keep up with the Chinese, they'll have to boost their investments in Hungary," he said.

Meeting Criticized by Opposition Politicians

According to a report by Euractiv, Hungarian MEP Katalin Cseh (Momentum Movement), a member of the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with the United States, noted prior to Orbán's U.S. trip that the meeting does not bode well for peace in Ukraine or for NATO.

“Orbán claims to be a peacemaker but that’s a blatant lie. It is NATO that has ensured peace on our continent,” she said, according to the report.

After the meeting, independent MEP István Ujhelyi, who used to lead the EP delegation of MSZP-DK, questioned the importance of Hungary and Orbán to Trump in an opinion piece published by Index.

"It is a difficult question to answer what will happen to the increasingly fragile international world and, sadly of marginal importance to Trump, to Hungary, in case the ex-president returns in the autumn. Mostly because (how absurd) Trump's only sure point is that he is unpredictable," he wrote.