BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio opened a two-day swing through Slovakia and Hungary Sunday, meeting Slovak leaders before a stop in Budapest aimed at strengthening ties with Prime Minister Robert Fico and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. The trip, coming as both governments spar with Brussels and keep energy links to Russia, is designed to lock in cooperation on NATO and energy while Washington presses its allies to curb reliance on Moscow, Feb. 15, 2026.
Rubio’s tour follows his appearances at the Munich Security Conference and underscores the Trump administration’s effort to cultivate right-leaning governments inside the European Union, according to a Reuters report on the trip. Reuters said Rubio is also serving as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser.
Marco Rubio met Sunday with Slovak President Peter Pellegrini and was scheduled to sit down later in the day with Fico, who visited Trump in Florida last month. On Monday, Rubio is expected to travel to Budapest for talks with Orbán, a nationalist leader admired by parts of the American right for his hard-line approach to immigration and his emphasis on Christian conservatism. Budapest has repeatedly hosted the Conservative Political Action Conference, a gathering of U.S. conservative activists and politicians, with another event expected in March.
Before departing for Europe, Marco Rubio called Slovakia and Hungary “countries that are very strong with us” and said Russian energy purchases would be part of the conversation, though he offered few details.
What Marco Rubio is seeking in Slovakia and Hungary
The State Department has said Marco Rubio’s agenda centers on energy cooperation and bilateral issues, including NATO commitments. Slovakia signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States last month, and Fico has said U.S.-based Westinghouse is likely to build a new nuclear power plant.
Energy: expanding cooperation on nuclear power and pushing for reduced dependence on Russian oil and gas.
NATO: reinforcing commitments as Trump presses allies to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP; Slovakia and Hungary are at NATO’s 2% minimum.
Ukraine and Russia: raising questions about sanctions and military support as both governments argue for a faster negotiated end to the war.
Rubio’s meetings also come amid tensions between Budapest and Bratislava and EU institutions over democratic governance and their relationships with Moscow. Even as other EU countries pivoted to alternative supplies after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary have continued to buy Russian gas and oil.
Trump’s embrace of Orbán sets a political backdrop
Rubio’s stop in Hungary lands in the middle of Orbán’s re-election campaign. Earlier this month, Trump publicly backed Orbán, calling his ally “a truly strong and powerful Leader,” according to Reuters’ account of the endorsement.
Orbán has leaned into the message at home. In a weekend speech ahead of the April 12 vote, he framed the European Union — not Russia — as Hungary’s main threat, telling supporters that “those who love freedom should not fear the East, but Brussels,” as reported by an Associated Press report.
AP reported that most independent polls show Orbán’s Fidesz party trailing the center-right Tisza party led by Péter Magyar heading into the April 12 vote.
For Marco Rubio, the timing matters: any visible warming of ties risks being read as an election-season boost for Orbán, even as U.S. officials say the focus is energy, defense and Ukraine.
A long-running split with Brussels — and with Moscow in the mix
The diplomatic friction did not start this winter. Orbán’s closeness to Trump has been years in the making; in March 2024 he endorsed Trump after meeting him in Florida, according to a Reuters report at the time.
Fico, meanwhile, returned to office in late 2023 after campaigning against military aid for Ukraine and against tougher sanctions on Russia. “We all see there is no military solution,” he said ahead of an early EU summit appearance, Reuters reported in an October 2023 dispatch.
Fico has also described the European Union as being in “deep crisis” and has praised Trump as someone who could bring peace back to Europe. He also criticized the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in early January.
In December 2024, Orbán said he met Trump and billionaire Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago, according to a Reuters report on the Mar-a-Lago meeting.
How Marco Rubio’s Munich message set up the trip
Marco Rubio arrived in Central Europe after trying to reassure European security leaders in Munich. In a speech that drew a standing ovation, he argued that the transatlantic relationship remains foundational and said Americans “will always be a child of Europe,” according to Reuters’ coverage of the address.
Time’s analysis of the speech described Rubio’s approach as a softer tone paired with familiar Trump-era demands on migration and burden-sharing — themes that now carry into his meetings with Orbán and Fico.
Whether the visit produces concrete deliverables is likely to be judged by what comes next: any new energy announcements, public commitments to reduce Russian imports, and signals that Budapest and Bratislava will align more closely with NATO partners on Ukraine. For Marco Rubio, the trip is also a test of whether engagement with two politically contentious leaders can translate into measurable policy shifts before Hungary’s election reshapes the regional landscape.
