Russia says some in EU are helping election rivals of Hungary’s Orban

MOSCOW, April 8 (Reuters) – Russia said on Wednesday that some political forces in the European Union were opposed to the re-election bid of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and were trying to help his opponents.

The Kremlin’s intervention came a day after U.S. Vice President JD Vance, in Budapest, accused the EU of “disgraceful” interference in the April 12 election, which many opinion polls suggest could bring an end to Orban’s 16-year grip on power.

“Many forces in Europe, many forces in Brussels, would not like Orban to win the elections again,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked about a leaked transcript, published by Bloomberg, of a conversation last year between Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“This is well-known, it’s obvious to the naked eye, and, of course, they’re playing into the hands of those forces that politically oppose Orban and believe that publishing such materials could harm him,” Peskov told reporters.

He did not provide any evidence that any EU officials were in any way involved with the leak. A European Commission spokesperson said: “Elections are the sole choice of the citizens.”

U.S. President Donald Trump has personally endorsed Orban’s bid for re-election, a stance reiterated by Vance in Budapest on Tuesday. Orban, a nationalist, has also maintained warm ties ⁠with ​Putin despite the Ukraine war and the efforts of the EU – of which Hungary is a member – to isolate and weaken Russia with waves of economic sanctions.

Hungary remains heavily reliant on Russian ​oil and gas. Citing a dispute with Kyiv over a war-damaged oil pipeline, Orban has blocked the implementation of an EU loan to Ukraine ​agreed in December.

In the transcript published by Bloomberg, Orban said he was at Putin’s service and cited a Hungarian story in which a mouse helps a lion.

Peskov, who did not deny the remarks were genuine, said they showed Orban in a pragmatic light.

“He is indeed a very effective politician… one who is specifically defending the interests of his own country,” Peskov said.

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Gareth Jones)