US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo voiced hope Monday that renewed American engagement with Hungary's Viktor Orban would help steer the increasingly authoritarian leader away from Russian and Chinese influence.
But Hungary's foreign minister retorted that Budapest was tired of the West's "enormous hypocrisy".
Hungary, Russia's closest friend within the European Union, agreed with Pompeo to seek closer defence ties and cast itself as a natural ally for President Donald Trump's brand of nationalist politics.
Pompeo held talks with Orban on a one-day visit to Budapest, the first leg of a Central European tour.
The US top official opened his trip by meeting representatives of civil society groups, whose criticism of Orban and legal work to promote human rights have gradually been curtailed.
Pompeo later told Orban's government that he would be upfront about concerns with Hungary and voiced worries about inroads of influence by both Russian President Vladimir Putin and China.
"We must not let Putin drive wedges between friends in NATO," Pompeo said. "An authoritarian Russia will never be a friend to the freedom and sovereignty of smaller nations."