The Washington Post, for example, citing a European security official, reported that Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó regularly telephoned during breaks at EU meetings to provide his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov with "live reports on what was discussed" and possible solutions.
The allegations were highlighted by an EU security official, who said Moscow was thus getting a virtually real-time view of what was happening at the meetings. The US media outlet recalls that such suspicions have existed for a long time.
Wiretapping ordered Orbán to investigate
There were several phone recordings made public a few weeks ago. In one of the conversations, Lavrov says Moscow is trying to obtain a document concerning the role of minority languages in Ukraine's accession negotiations with the European Union. Szijjártó then replies, "I will send it to you. It is not a problem."
However, it is not clear what the document was or whether it was publicly available.
Reuters wrote at the time that it had not been able to independently verify the authenticity of the released audio recordings. Szijjártó had earlier described the tapping of his phone calls as a "huge scandal" and Prime Minister Orbán had ordered an investigation.
Friendly tone
Warsaw-based VSquare had already published a phone conversation between Szijjártó and Lavrov in March. At the time, a company representative added that the recordings had been independently verified by external sound experts and came from several countries.
The interviews in the three audio clips reportedly had a friendly tone. "All the best, my friend," Lavrov says at the end of one interview regarding the convening of an intergovernmental economic commission in Budapest. Szijjártó replies, "Whenever you need anything, I am at your disposal."
Together, they were also to coordinate efforts, for example, to get some Russians off sanctions lists, including the sister of oligarch Alisher Usmanov. Lavrov was to ask the Hungarian minister in a phone call not to forget this issue, and Szijjártó replied that he and Slovakia would submit a proposal to remove her and do everything possible to succeed.
In other conversations with Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin, he also spoke of efforts to weaken EU sanctions packages, including measures against Russia's oil shadow fleet. He claimed that he was trying to remove Russian entities from the proposals and asked the Russian side for arguments to help him do so.
Other talks were about preparations for Orbán's trip to Moscow in 2024 during Hungary's EU presidency or last year's blocking of the European Union's sanctions package against Russia. The Hungarian diplomatic chief also asked Lavrov about the details of the meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska in 2025.
Szijjártó himself admitted diplomatic communication with the Russian minister.
(reuters, max)
