On Tuesday, Bloomberg News said it had obtained a Hungarian government transcript of a call that took place between Orbán and Putin on 17 October, in which Orbán reportedly compared the relationship to that of a “mouse” standing ready to help the Russian “lion” as needed.

“Yesterday our friendship rose to such a high level that I can help in any way,” Orbán reportedly told Putin in the call. “In any matter where I can be of assistance, I am at your service.”

In an attempt to emphasise his point, Orbán was said to have made reference to one of Aesop’s fables in which a mouse who was earlier shown mercy by a lion goes on to free the same lion when it is netted by hunters. The remark drew a laugh from Putin, the transcript suggested.