Bratislava, Slovakia. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a two-day trip to eastern Europe on Sunday to bolster ties with Slovakia and Hungary and to discuss energy cooperation and bilateral issues, including NATO commitments.
State Department agenda and remarks
Rubio will use the trip to discuss energy cooperation and bilateral issues, including NATO commitments, the State Department said in an announcement last week.
“These are countries that are very strong with us, very cooperative with the United States, work very closely with us,” Rubio told reporters before departing for Europe on Thursday.
Meetings in Slovakia
Rubio, who in his dual role also serves as President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, met Slovak President Peter Pellegrini on Sunday on his arrival in Bratislava, the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state in seven years, and discussed energy and defence.
“An important topic of the talks was… defence cooperation and the fulfilment of commitments arising from NATO summits,” Pellegrini’s office said in a statement.
Rubio later met Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who visited Trump in Florida last month. Rubio’s trip follows his attendance at the Munich Security Conference over the last few days.
Planned meeting in Hungary
On Monday, Rubio is expected to meet Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, who is trailing in most polls ahead of an election in April when he could be voted out of power.
“President (Trump) said he’s very supportive of him, and so are we,” Rubio said ahead of his trip. “But obviously we were going to do that visit as a bilateral visit.”
Orban, one of Trump’s closest allies in Europe, is considered by many on the American hard-right as a model for Trump’s policies on immigration and support for families and Christian conservatism. Budapest has repeatedly hosted Conservative Political Action Conference events, with another due in March.
Relations with EU institutions
Both Fico and Orban have clashed with EU institutions over probes into backsliding on democratic rules.
What do you think will be the main focus of Rubio’s talks with Slovakia and Hungary during this trip?
