(Budapest) Far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was received Thursday in Hungary, land of his sovereignist ally Viktor Orban, the day after a meeting with Vladimir Putin in the midst of the Russian-Western crisis over Ukraine.
Posted at 9:54 a.m.
Mr. Bolsonaro, very weakened after three years in office and diplomatically isolated, had displayed his “solidarity” on Wednesday with the Russian president, who welcomed his side of “constructive” discussions.
In Hungary, he was welcomed in the morning by his counterpart Janos Ader before an interview with Prime Minister Orban.
During a press conference, Jair Bolsonaro greeted his Hungarian “brother”, “small in size, but big in the values that we represent, which we can sum up in four words: God, fatherland, family and freedom”.
Relations between Brazil and Hungary have been strengthened in recent years, thanks to the ideological proximity of their two leaders.
It is the first time that this Central European country of 9.8 million inhabitants receives a head of state from the first power in Latin America.
“A great honor” for Mr. Orban, one of the few Western officials to have attended Jair Bolsonaro’s investiture ceremony in early 2019. He also insisted on “their common approaches” in terms of migration or even defense of Christianity and the traditional family.
The visit was accompanied by the signing of three cooperation contracts, particularly in the field of defence. Hungary had already placed an order at the end of 2020 for two Embraer KC-390 military aircraft.
Since his return to power in 2010, Viktor Orban has been keen to forge links beyond the borders of the European Union, where this defender of “illiberal” values is regularly accused of attacks on democracy.
He thus operated a process of “opening up to the East” of Hungary, a member of the EU, turning towards Beijing and Moscow.
He was also close to former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and former US President Donald Trump, who also gave him his “fullest support” for the April 3 legislative elections.
In the midst of a diplomatic offensive in the run-up to this election, which promises to be disputed against an unprecedented alliance of the opposition, Viktor Orban himself went to Moscow in early February where he had displayed his good understanding with Vladimir Putin.
Westerners have been worried for weeks about the risks of an attack on Ukraine by Russia, which has massed more than 100,000 troops on the borders of this country, an explosive situation at the heart of the worst crisis with Moscow since the end of the Cold War.