"Orbán's Diplomatic Moves: Hosting World Athletics Championships to Strengthen Ties and Welcoming Turkish and Serbian Presidents"
Hungary's nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is using the World Athletics Championships as an opportunity to strengthen ties with autocratic leaders from Turkey, Serbia, Qatar, and Central Asian nations, while excluding leaders from the EU and NATO. Orbán's focus on building relationships with autocracies reflects Hungary's "Eastern opening" diplomatic strategy, which prioritizes partnerships with countries like Russia and China. The meetings during the championships will center around securing natural gas supplies and discussing security, defense, and economic cooperation. Hungary's isolation from its European and American partners due to alleged rule-of-law abuses and democratic backsliding has led to an increased emphasis on partnerships outside the EU and NATO.