Rubio to visit eastern Europe, bolster ties with pro-Trump leaders

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to begin a two-day trip on Sunday, to bolster ties with Slovakia and Hungary, whose conservative leaders, often at odds with other European Union countries, have warm ties with President Donald Trump, Report informs via Reuters.

Rubio will use the trip to discuss energy cooperation and bilateral issues, including NATO commitments, the State Department said in an announcement last week.

"These are countries that are very strong with us, very cooperative with the United States, work very closely with us, and it's a good opportunity to go see them and two countries I've never been in," Rubio told reporters before departing for Europe on Thursday.

Rubio, who in his dual role also serves as Trump's national security adviser, will meet in Bratislava on Sunday with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who visited Trump in Florida last month. The US diplomat's trip follows his participation in the Munich Security Conference over the last few days.

On Monday, Rubio is expected to meet with Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, who is trailing in most polls ahead of an election in April when he could be voted out of power.

"The President said he's very supportive of him, and so are we," Rubio said. "But obviously we were going to do that visit as a bilateral visit."

Orban, one of Trump's closest allies in Europe, is considered by many on the American hard-right as a model for the US president's tough policies on immigration and support for families and Christian conservatism. Budapest has repeatedly hosted Conservative Political Action Conference events, which bring together conservative activists and leaders, with another due in March.