Allies of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will hold a closed-door meeting with Republicans in Washington to push for the United States ending military support to Ukraine. The Guardian reported Sunday members of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs and staff from the Hungarian embassy in Washington will attend an event hosted by the Heritage Foundation. The event will have panels about the Ukraine War and culture wars on Monday. It is expected to feature guests such as Centre for Fundamental Rights International Director Magor Ernyei. The source said some of the attendees have been invited to join closed-door talks on Tuesday. The meeting will take place against a backdrop of fierce debates in Washington over Ukraine’s future. Without congressional action, the White House said money to buy weapons and equipment for Ukraine will run out by the end of the year. Senate Republicans blocked an emergency spending bill to fund the Ukraine War on Wednesday. “Orban is confident that the Ukraine aid will not pass in Congress,” said a source close to the Hungarian embassy.“That is why he is trying to block assistance from the EU as well.”Orban is a frequent critic of aid to help Ukraine against the Russian invasion. He was photographed smiling and shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin two months ago in Beijing. He said it is “clear that the proposal of the @EU_Commission on Ukraine’s EU accession is unfounded and poorly prepared.”“There is no place for it on the agenda of the December #EUCO!” he said..The Heritage Foundation is leading Project 2025, which is preparing for the next Republican presidential administration and has hosted speeches by former British prime minister Liz Truss and Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford and Woodford Green) in recent months. It has been a vocal opponent of the US providing military assistance to Ukraine. “It’s time to end the blank, undated checks for Ukraine,” said Heritage Foundation Vice-President Victoria Coates. Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said in 2022 it was an honour to meet Orban. “One thing is clear from visiting Hungary and from being involved in current policy and cultural debates in America: the world needs a movement that fights for Truth, for tradition, for families and for the average person,” said Roberts..In recent years, Orban has championed a transatlantic right-wing alliance with a hardline stance against immigration and gender ideology and staunch Christian nationalism, but he has received scorn from people warning of a backslide into authoritarianism. Hungary has been portrayed by conservative media as an anti-woke paradise and model for the US. Arizona Republican Senate nomination candidate Kari Lake and Republican Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-09) have said they want to see the Hungary model transplanted to the US, especially when it comes to immigration and family policies. Orban has returned the favour by heaping praise on former US president Donald Trump. When Trump was slapped with multiple indictments, he called it a “very communist methodology.”NATO Defence Chief Jens Stoltenberg announced in February Ukraine should be able to join the organization. READ MORE: NATO Defence Chief Stoltenberg says Ukraine will eventually become member“NATO allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a member of our alliance, but at the same time, that is a long-term perspective,” said Stoltenberg. “The issue now is that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign independent nation, and therefore, we need to support Ukraine.”
