Allies of Hungary’s Victor Orbán will descend upon Washington on Monday for a two-day event, meeting with Republicans to push for an end to aid for Ukraine.
The event will be hosted by the Heritage Foundation thinktank.
On day one, members of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs and staff from the Hungarian embassy in Washington will be hearing speeches about the Ukraine war, as well as topics such as Transatlantic Culture Wars.
On day two, some of the attendees, including Republican members of Congress, have been invited to join closed-door talks the next day.
A diplomatic source close to the Hungarian embassy said that Orbán, Vladimir Putin’s closest ally, is confident Ukraine aid will not pass in Congress.
The Heritage Foundation is leading Project 2025, a coalition preparing for the next conservative presidential administration. The thinktank has been a vocal opponent of U.S. assistance to Ukraine.
Hungary has been portrayed by conservative media as an anti-“woke” paradise and model for the United States. Some far-right Republicans, such as Kari Lake and Paul Gosar, said they would like to see the “Hungarian model” transplanted to the US, especially when it comes to immigration and family policies. CPAC went to Hungary for the second time this year, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson shot multiple episodes in Hungary touting Orbán policies.
Orbán has lavished praise on Donald Trump, claiming that if Trump were president, “there would be no war in Ukraine and Europe.”
The Guardian has more of the story.