Republicans, Democrats concerned about Hungary's Orban ahead of U.S. visit
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senior Republican and Democratic members of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee told President Donald Trump on Friday they were concerned about Hungary’s “downward democratic trajectory,” ahead of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s visit to Washington next week.
“In recent years, democracy in Hungary has significantly eroded ... Under Orban, the election process has become less competitive and the judiciary is increasingly controlled by the state,” the senators, led by Republican committee chairman Jim Risch and ranking Democrat Bob Menendez, said in a letter to Trump.
The letter was also signed by Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
Orban is a nationalist leader who has often clashed with the European Union over his anti-immigration campaigns and judicial reforms. He clashed with the administration of former U.S. President Barack Obama, a Democrat, over what critics said was an erosion of democratic values by his government.
Trump is due to meet with Orban on Monday.
The senators also said they were very concerned about the close relationship between Hungary, a NATO partner, and Russia. They said Hungary has failed to diversify its energy resources from Moscow and said Hungary has allowed Russia to exploit its visa system to evade U.S. sanctions.
They called the relocation of the International Investment Bank from Moscow to Budapest “an exercise in Russian power projection.” And they said it was disturbing that Hungary rejected an extradition request for two arms dealers from the United States and instead sent them “to their freedom in Moscow.”
The senators asked Trump to raise those concerns in his meeting with Orban and to underscore U.S. support for the Hungarian people.
White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.
Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by James Dalgleish
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