Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today!
US president Donald Trump has doubled down on his criticism of Nato saying it was “very disappointing” in another critical social media post on the alliance, just a day after meeting with Nato’s secretary general Mark Rutte (15:13).
Rutte is about to deliver a speech in Washington this afternoon, with further live coverage over on the Middle East blog.
But Trump’s criticisms prompted mixed reactions across Europe, with German chancellor Friedrich Merz warning against “a split in Nato” and offering help with securing the strait of Hormuz (16:28).
But Czech president Petr Pavel warned that Donald Trump’s recent comments questioning the role of Nato have damaged the alliance’s credibility more than anything the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has done in several years (13:33).
Separately,
The European Commission has demanded an urgent explanation from Hungary after another leaked phone call between foreign minister Péter Szijjártó and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, reignited concerns over Budapest’s relationship with the Kremlin (11:08, 12:55).
The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, accused Hungary of “betrayal of the solidarity required between countries of the European Union” (11:08).
The controversy comes just three days before the key parliamentary election in Hungary, with polls suggesting the opposition Tisza party could have a chance of ousting Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power (14:25, 15:54).
On that note, hopefully I will see you from Budapest tomorrow as we enter the final days of the Hungarian campaign ahead of the big vote on Sunday and will be on the ground to bring you the latest.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Vance and Trump were not meddling in Hungary's election, US ambassador insists
Back to Hungary, Donald Trump’s ambassador to the EU denied in an AFP interview that the US leader or his vice-president were “meddling” in Hungary’s election by endorsing nationalist incumbent Viktor Orbán.
Speaking two days after JD Vance travelled to Budapest to stump with Orban, US envoy Andrew Puzder noted that both Trump and his vice-president had “been very vocal on their support” for the Hungarian prime minister.
But the ambassador pushed back at the charge that the visit by Vance – who railed against Brussels “bureaucrats” he accused of pushing for Orban’s ouster – amounted to interference.
“I do not believe that what the vice-president or the president did was meddling in the Hungarian election,” Puzder said, adding of Vance: “I think he was careful not to be coercive, or make economic threats, or do the kinds of things that could be coercive.”
