BUDAPEST, December 24. /TASS/. Budapest views Russian President Vladimir Putin as an honest partner and is eager to develop relations with Moscow, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in an interview with the Magyar Nemzet newspaper.

"The foreign policy of a rational country is to make friends. Let there be as many nations in the world as possible that are invested in the success of the Hungarian people. The new US president favors Hungary. The Chinese president has visited two European Union countries, France and Hungary. The Turkish president is our friend, the Russian president is our honest partner, and the Israeli prime minister is our good friend. I doubt there has ever been such a situation in the history of Hungarian diplomacy," the head of government pointed out.

According to him, maintaining balance in relations with multiple countries is not easy. "Juggling all these relationships at once without dropping a single one but preventing conflicts between them from harming our relations is a difficult mission, but it’s not impossible. The reason we need to make friends worldwide is for all Hungarians to gain tangible benefits," Orban stressed.

The Hungarian prime minister also noted he had built strong ties with US President-elect Donald Trump so Budapest could benefit when he assumes office. "Hungary will receive significant investment from the US," Orban said. Moreover, Trump has promised to address the conflict in Ukraine, offering hope that the goal will be achieved by 2025, he added.

"Hungary has endured three years of war in the neighboring country," the premier went on to say. "The war has impacted everyone, every economy. It is a great achievement that Hungary has not fallen back, and its situation is currently different from that of most European economies, particularly in terms of competitiveness," Orban observed.