Turkish President Erdogan visits Hungary to meet his ally Orban

Every day, the correspondents’ club describes how the same news story is illustrated in several countries. This Monday, we are interested in two countries close to the Kremlin.

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meets his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban, in Budapest to celebrate, Monday, December 18, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The two leaders have in common the practice of strong power which muzzles the press and the opposition, but they are also distinguished by their friendship for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

An important contract has just been signed between the two countries: Budapest will buy 300 million m2 from Turkey³ gas. Let us remember that Hungary is a major consumer since two thirds of Hungarians heat themselves with gas, and especially Russian gas. Hungary already imports it via the Turkstream gas pipeline, which passes through Turkey. With this new contract, Budapest is strengthening its energy security and ensuring that its needs are covered, should the winter be very harsh.

For Orban, Erdogan is a model

For the Hungarian Prime Minister, the Turkish President is a model. When Viktor Orban gave his famous speech in 2014, where he clearly said that he wanted to build an illiberal state, that is to say an authoritarian state, he cited two countries as sources of inspiration: Russia and Turkey . In the eyes of the Hungarian leader, Turkey embodies growth and economic success, and President Erdogan, in power for 20 years, is an example of political longevity that Viktor Orban hopes to imitate. As we have seen, these two politicians have a lot in common. With their energetic side, they are inflexible negotiators when they have an idea in their head. These two strong leaders are so similar that Donald Trump confused them and recently referred to “Viktor Orban, the Turkish president”.

If they do not share similar convictions on all current issues, the war in Gaza in particular, Orban and Erdogan ostensibly cultivate a privileged relationship with the master of the Kremlin. The Hungarian Prime Minister regularly visits Moscow while the Turkish President was greeted by his Russian counterpart during his major press conference. Vladimir Putin even assured that he would go to Turkey at the beginning of next year.

Turkey welcomes future Hungarian EU presidency

Both like nothing more than to show their power to cause harm in Europe: Orban by refusing to grant aid to Ukraine, Erdogan by regularly waving the migrant card. Relations between Turkey and the European Union are at a standstill. The file that was to be discussed at the last summit was even postponed until next spring.

However, Ankara is impatiently waiting for the customs agreement to be revisited and, above all, for the conditions for granting “Schengen” visas to its citizens to be relaxed. Erdogan is counting on the support of the Hungarian Prime Minister. The pro-government Turkish press is delighted that Hungary, which supports Turkish membership, will take over the presidency of the Union in the second half of 2024.