Orban and Trump agreed to talks on financial cooperation, Hungary foreign minister says

BUDAPEST, Dec 9 - Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and U.S. President Donald Trump did not agree on a proposed $20 billion financial lifeline but committed to start talks on a new ‍form ​of financial cooperation, Hungary's foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Peter ‍Szijjarto was reacting to an interview published earlier in the day by Politico in which Trump denied ​offering ​any financial lifeline.

Last month, Orban suggested Hungary could choose from several facilities to shore up its finances under an agreement with Washington, with funding worth up to $20 billion.

Orban, ‍a nationalist leader facing a tight election next year, met Trump at the White ​House on November 7. During the meeting, ⁠he secured a one-year waiver from U.S. sanctions for using Russian energy. Afterwards, Orban said Hungary might be able to tap a currency swap line or a flexible credit line, subject to Trump's approval.

"No, ​I didn't promise him (Orban), but he certainly asked for it," Trump told Politico when he was asked ‌about the possible financial shield for Hungary.

On ​Tuesday, Szijjarto said that at the meeting between Trump and Orban "no agreement was in fact reached on any $20 billion, just as no one had claimed."

"What they agreed on, however, was that we would begin consultations on a new type of financial cooperation, its possible forms, and a mechanism that could offer financial protection," Szijjarto wrote on Facebook.

Facing a third year ‍of stagnation, Orban's government has rolled out tax cuts for families, wage hikes, ​food vouchers for pensioners, and other measures to bolster support ahead of the election.

Hungarian officials have previously ​said that potential U.S. financial support would show Hungary can ‌find alternatives to EU funding, which remains frozen in a dispute over Orban’s rule-of-law reforms that critics say undermine democracy. REUTERS