BUDAPEST (Reuters) -Hungary’s agreement with Washington on a “financial shield” shows it can fund alternatives to European Union funding, which has been suspended over rule-of-law concerns, a top aide to Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Monday.

Orban, who faces a closely fought election next year, met his longtime ally U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, securing a waiver from U.S. sanctions for using Russian energy, a deal that has bolstered the forint.

Orban also said Hungary, whose economy has stagnated for the past three years amid high inflation following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, had secured an agreement from Washington to protect its economy and public finances from external attack.

Janos Lazar, Orban’s Construction and Transport Minister, said t

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