By Ginika Igboke
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a two-day trip to Eastern Europe on Feb. 15, meeting with the conservative leaders of Slovakia and Hungary to reinforce diplomatic and security cooperation.
The State Department said Rubio planned to address bilateral issues, including NATO commitments and energy collaboration.
Before departing for Europe on Feb. 12, Rubio told reporters the two nations have maintained strong and cooperative relationships with the United States.
Also serving as national security adviser to President Donald Trump, Rubio arrived in Bratislava and met Slovak President Peter Pellegrini. Their discussions centered on defense and energy cooperation, marking the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state to Slovakia in seven years.
Pellegrini’s office said talks included defense cooperation and commitments made at NATO summits.
Rubio later met with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, whose recent visit to Florida included talks with Trump. Rubio’s stop in Slovakia followed his participation in the Munich Security Conference.
On Feb. 16, Rubio is scheduled to meet Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who faces an April election amid tightening polls. Rubio said Trump remains supportive of Orban but described the trip as a standard bilateral visit.
Orban is widely regarded as one of Trump’s closest allies in Europe. Budapest has hosted multiple Conservative Political Action Conference gatherings, bringing together conservative leaders and activists from around the world, with another event planned for March.
Both Fico and Orban have faced scrutiny from the European Union over concerns about democratic backsliding. The two leaders have also maintained relatively close ties with Moscow, at times criticizing or delaying EU sanctions on Russia and opposing additional military assistance to Kyiv.
Unlike many EU nations that reduced energy imports from Russia after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary have continued purchasing Russian gas and oil—a position that has drawn criticism from Washington. Rubio indicated such matters could be discussed during the trip but offered no specifics.
Fico has described the EU as facing institutional challenges while praising Trump and suggesting he could help bring peace to Europe. However, the Slovak prime minister recently criticized the United States over its handling of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
On defense spending, both Slovakia and Hungary meet NATO’s 2 percent minimum threshold but fall short of Trump’s call for alliance members to raise military expenditures to 5 percent of GDP.
In January, Slovakia signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States, with Fico indicating that U.S.-based Westinghouse Electric Company is likely to participate in constructing a new nuclear power plant.
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