They lost one of their only allies in Europe, the Kremlin reacts after the elections in Hungary: We hope to continue ties with the new prime minister

The Kremlin said on Monday it hoped to continue its "very pragmatic ties" with Hungary's new political leadership after Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close Russian partner, was defeated at the ballot box by his new rival Peter Magyar.

Orban, Hungary's veteran nationalist leader, lost power to Hungarians and his center-right Tisza party in Sunday's election after 16 years in office - a setback for his allies in Russia and the White House of U.S. President Donald Trump.

"Hungary has made its choice and we respect that choice," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

“We look forward to continuing our very pragmatic engagement with the new leadership of Hungary. We noted Magyar’s statement regarding his willingness to engage in dialogue. Of course, this will be beneficial for both Moscow and Budapest.”

Orban, who last visited Moscow in November, blocked a 90 billion euro loan for Ukraine after accusing it of sabotaging Russian oil supplies to his country, something Kiev denied, and delayed and sometimes opposed EU sanctions on Russia.

Hungary has also continued to buy oil and gas from Russia despite Moscow's war in Ukraine - in which Orban said he did not want his country to be involved - and Moscow is building a new nuclear power plant for Hungary.

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