Robert Palladino, the US charge d'affaires in Budapest, said a potential "golden age" in US-Hungary relations lies ahead based on close ties between the two countries' leaders.
Talking to head of the Hungarian Institute of International Affairs Gladden Pappin late on Tuesday, Palladino said US President Donald Trump "prided himself" on keeping his promises and acting swiftly, "so we're looking forward to an exciting period".
This, he said, meant a return to traditional diplomacy and common sense.
Palladino said both the Hungarian government and US administration liked to "look our allies in the eye and see if we share a common position".
"We speak a common language," he said, adding that both sought mutual cooperation to expand shared interests.
At secretary of state Marco Rubio's request, diplomats and officials posed the question before every decision: "Can this make the United States safer, stronger and more successful?"
Noting the US public debt of 36 trillion dollars, he said the US could not allow the debt to continue to grow in the future.
The charge d'affaires said the US economy, "one of the most open economies in the world", had encountered closed economies, tariffs and other economic barriers, and Trump wanted trade based on "reciprocity and fairness".
He said Péter Szijjártó, Hungary's foreign minister, was right to call on Brussels to take an active role in talks on strengthening US-EU trade ties.
Regarding ending the war in Ukraine, he said the Trump administration saw this as a priority, noting that Hungary's government backed its efforts to forge peace between Moscow and Kiev.
First, the sides must be brought to a common negotiating table to end the war, he said.
Second, Europe must take on greater responsibility for its own security, he said, adding that European countries must increase their defence budgets.
The US government "is grateful for the help it has received" from Hungary in this respect, he added.
Palladino pointed to "serious opportunities for close cooperation" between the two countries in defence as well as at the level of the government, companies, and citizens.
He said the "golden age" of relations required hard work, but he was "optimistic" about the potential results.
The US diplomat called reports of a "divorce" between the US and Europe "an exaggeration" and untethered from reality, noting their "shared past, history, values and destiny".
He said, however, that the US wanted to see a stronger Europe capable of being a better US ally, adding that Europe must boost its military industrial base and its leaders should listen to their own citizens "instead of censoring minority opinion".
Referring to relations between his predecessor, David Pressman, and the Hungarian government, he said it was no secret that they had been fraught with tensions and "sensitive" situations, but now bilateral relations free from activism could recommence thanks to Trump's return to office.
It was clear, he said, that the resumption of political ties was taking place. He said the two countries' leaders "are close to each other" and often took the opportunity to talk, as did Szijjártó and Rubio. Further, delegations from the two countries "regularly visit each other". This closeness between the leaders, he added, should be translated into substantive results with a return to traditional diplomacy.
The US administration, Palladino said, first wanted to focus on energy, defence, trade, and ties between the Hungarian and American people.
Noting his visit to the Paks nuclear power plant, the charge d'affaires emphasised the importance of nuclear fuel and how "energy security is also national security". US companies, he added, stood ready to supply the plant.
Small modular reactors, he said, were another area of future cooperation, adding that the US "has the best technology" in this area.
"Hungary is our ally," Palladino said, adding that the US would never allow its allies to be "at the mercy of" any energy source.