“Yesterday, our friendship reached such a high level that I can help in any way — there is a story in our Hungarian picture books where the mouse helps the lion,” Orbán told Putin, according to a transcript from Bloomberg. “I am ready to help immediately… I am at your service in anything where I can be of help,” the Hungarian Prime Minister was supposed to assure the head of the Kremlin.
At the same time, he refers to Putin as a friend and reminds that their close relations date back to the meeting in 2009 in St. Petersburg. What happened the day before the wiretapped phone call is not clear from the wiretapping. On October 16, 2025, however, US President Donald Trump announced that he will meet with Putin in Budapest about Ukraine in about two weeks. But this summit never took place.
The story of the lion and the mouse mentioned by Orbán based on the classic Aesop’s fable is known in Hungary from children’s books and animated films. The story shows that even the smallest creatures can provide great help.
In the phone call, Orbán was supposed to offer, among other things, the organization of a summit in Budapest, the aim of which would be to end the war in Ukraine, which has been resisting a large-scale Russian invasion for over four years.
