In a conversation with Putin, Orbán compared himself to a mouse helping Putin, the lion
Bloomberg leaked the transcript of a phone conversation between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin. It seems no one has ever humiliated themselves like this before.

Viktor Orbán and Vladimir Putin, 2018. Photo: Mikhail Svetlov / Getty Image
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán told Vladimir Putin during a phone conversation in October 2025 that he was ready to go to great lengths to help the Russian president, including helping to resolve the war in Ukraine by holding a summit in Budapest.
“Yesterday our friendship rose to such a high level that I can help in any way,” Orbán said, according to the transcript of the Hungarian government’s conversation, which was examined by Bloomberg.
“On any matter where I can be useful, I am at your service.”
Viktor Orbán reminded the Russian president of a popular Hungarian fable, according to him, in which a mouse frees a lion caught in a net because the lion had previously spared the mouse's life. Putin laughed at this.
Most of the conversation was dedicated by both politicians to expressing gratitude to each other, as well as to US President Donald Trump.
Orbán also told Putin that, in his opinion, their friendship had only grown stronger since their first meeting in St. Petersburg in 2009. “The more friends we have, the more opportunities we have to resist our opponents,” Orbán said.
He added that he regretted that they could not meet regularly and in person with Putin, as they did before the coronavirus pandemic, and the Russian president praised Hungary’s “sovereign and flexible” position regarding the war in Ukraine.
“It is incomprehensible why such a balanced, moderate position only causes objections,” Putin said.
Putin and Orbán exchanged jokes about sports. “I do exercises, and I also ski. I know you play football,” Vladimir Putin remarked.
“I try,” the Hungarian leader replied. Both laughed.
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