Hungary and Russia struck 12-point plan for closer ties, documents show

BRUSSELS — More evidence is emerging of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s attempts to turn eastward and plug Hungary economically and politically into Russia — something his opponent is using against him in the run-up to Sunday’s election.

The Hungarian government signed an agreement with Russia to expand the two countries’ economic, trade, energy and cultural ties, according to documents drawn up by the Russian government and obtained by POLITICO. They starkly underscore how close Budapest and Moscow hope to become.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko signed a 12-point plan laying out areas of cooperation after the two met for talks in the Russian capital in December, the documents show. The text, which has not previously been made public, sets out the extent to which the two governments would align in areas as diverse as nuclear fuel, education and sport.

While Orbán flaunts his close ties with the Kremlin, his electoral rival, Péter Magyar, has argued this is an Achilles’ heel, accusing the government of “outright treason” over its ties to Moscow.

The December summit in Moscow was the 16th meeting of the Russian-Hungarian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation (IGC), which according to Russian state media was launched in 2005. The commission has met on a roughly annual basis in either Russia or Hungary since then — with a break between the 14th meeting in November 2021 and the 15th in September 2024. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

According to one of the documents, Russia and Hungary “addressed current issues of bilateral trade and economic cooperation, joint activities in the energy sector, industry, health care, agriculture, construction, and other areas of mutual interest, as well as in the cultural and humanitarian sphere” at the meeting in Moscow on Dec. 9, 2025. They also underscored the importance of “developing long-term, mutually beneficial ties between the two countries in areas of mutual interest.”

Asked about the contents of the documents and their ramifications for Hungary’s political trajectory, Szijjártó said only that “Hungary’s bilateral cooperation is guided by national interest, not by any pressure to conform to the extremely biased liberal mainstream media. Keep up the biased work!” Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment. 

Oil, gas, nuclear

POLITICO contacted independent experts familiar with Moscow’s working methods but could not independently verify the documents, which include instructions to Russian government departments on implementing the new commitments.

Among the points agreed, according to the documents, was a commitment to “reverse the negative trend in bilateral trade” after the transfer of goods fell as a result of the EU’s sanctions on Russia, implemented in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. The agreement also opens the door to Russian companies breaking ground on new electricity and hydrogen projects in Hungary and closer cooperation on oil, gas and nuclear fuel.

Budapest agreed to explore strengthening Russian language education in the country by importing teachers from Russia as well as bolstering mutual recognition of qualifications and opening up exchange programs for graduate students, according to the text of the agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Hungarian government backed ongoing programs of exchange in everything from sports to circus arts — even though Moscow has consistently been accused of using cultural events to propagate its narratives about the war in Ukraine and to lend legitimacy to the Moscow regime. The two sides supported the idea of a 2026-2027 action plan for joint collaboration on sports.

Closer ties with Russia must not be “inconsistent with Hungary’s obligations arising from its membership of the European Union,” one of the documents says.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán shake hands during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on Nov. 28, 2025. | Pool photo by Alexander Nemenov/AFP via Getty Images

The Hungarian prime minister has consistently opposed EU efforts to tighten sanctions on Russia and provide material support for Ukraine. On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported he had told Russian leader Vladimir Putin in an October 2025 phone call that he would offer help “in any way I can” and that Hungary would be the “mouse” to Moscow’s “lion.”

Orbán faces the toughest test of his 16-year hold on power in Sunday’s nationwide parliamentary election, where his populist Fidesz party lags behind the center-right Tisza opposition in the polls. He has sought to sell his friendly relations with Moscow as an election-winning issue, accusing arch-rival Magyar of planning to drag Hungary into the war in Ukraine and jeopardize its access to Russian fossil fuels.

The Hungarian election campaign has been defined by a series of strategic information leaks, cyber surveillance, allegations of espionage and accusations from diplomats. Voting begins Sunday.