Hungary's right-wing nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban lent his support to long-time ally Donald Trump's bid to return to White House after meeting the former U.S. president in Florida late on Friday.

The two discussed "a wide range of issues affecting Hungary and the United States, including the paramount importance of strong and secure borders to protect the sovereignty of each nation," according to a statement from Trump's campaign.

Orban has long been at odds with his fellow European Union members over a range of issues, including refusing to send weapons to Kyiv and keeping up economic ties with Moscow since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Orban has said only the return of Republican candidate Trump to the White House could bring peace in Ukraine.

"We need leaders in the world who are respected and can bring peace. He is one of them! Come back and bring us peace, Mr. President!," Orban said in a post on X after the meeting.

Orban, admired by many conservatives in the United States for his tough policies on immigration, his family support schemes and vocal stance on national sovereignty, said in a video on his Facebook page that under Trump's 2017-2021 presidency there was peace in the Middle East and also Ukraine.

"Viktor is a Great Leader, respected all over the World," Trump said on Saturday in a post on his Truth Social messaging platform, saying it had been an honor to host Orban.

"Hungary is a Safe Country because of his Strong Immigration Policies, and as long as he is in charge, it always will be!" Trump added.

Orban has regularly been at loggerheads with the EU over his anti-immigration campaigns and moves to put the judiciary, NGOs, and media under more state control, which critics say have eroded democracy in Hungary.

Orban has also criticised EU sanctions against Russia, although never vetoed them in the end, and held up an EU decision on granting new aide for Ukraine last December until finally agreeing to it early this year.

Hungary's Orban hails Trump as 'president of peace' after US meeting

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban reiterated his admiration for former US president Donald Trump after they met in Florida on Friday, endorsing him as a "president of peace."

"We Hungarians have only one thing to do, and that is to admit honestly: The world would be better and it would be better for Hungary if Mr. President Donald Trump were to return [to power]," Orban said in comments dubbed over video footage of him visiting Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach.

During Trump's time in office, there was peace in the Middle East and Ukraine, and these wars would not exist today if he were leading the United States, Orban said in a message posted on Facebook.

Trump had "offered respect in the world and thus created the conditions for peace," according to Orban. He also expressed the hope that his return to the White House would revive bilateral trade relations.

Trump is seeking re-election for a second term for the Republican Party in US presidential elections scheduled for November.

At a campaign appearance in Pennsylvania on Friday evening, the incumbent US President Joe Biden mocked the fact that Trump was meeting the very head of government from Europe "who's stated flatly that he doesn't thinks democracy works."

Orban's Facebook post contained footage without sound of his meeting held at Trump's luxurious Florida estate.

The two later planned to have dinner together and listen to a concert, said Orban's spokesman Bertalan Havasi, according to the Hungarian news agency MTI. Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó was also present.

Before their meeting, Orban also made an appearance at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington and met with Trump's former chief advisor, the right-wing publicist Steve Bannon.

Trump and Orban regularly praise each other publicly. Orban, in power in Hungary since 2010, was the only EU leader to openly declare his support for Trump even before his election as president in 2016.

The two populists have much in common politically, with Bannon once referring to the Hungarian as "Trump before Trump."

Trump has in the past openly expressed his admiration for a number of authoritarian leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Orban also maintains good relations with Putin and only half-heartedly supports the West's sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, launched in 2022.