World powers jockey for position in Europe

US President Donald Trump and Russia's President Vladimir Putin met on Tuesday with the poster childs of Eastern European populism, Polish President Andrzej Duda and Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, respectively. The Washington and Moscow meetings underline the growing international interest in the region as Brussels and Beijing also jockey for economic and political influence too.

On Tuesday, Mr Trump and Mr Duda discussed stepping up cooperation in security and energy with the US president declaring relations have "never been closer" and indicating that Washington may seek to build a permanent military base there.

And earlier the same day, Mr Putin met Mr Orban (who Mr Trump has said is a "strong and brave person") with energy diplomacy also high on the agenda. Hungary imports most of its gas from Russia under a long-term supply agreement scheduled to expire by 2020 providing significant leverage for Moscow in its bilateral relationship.