HHungary’s foreign minister has been drawn into controversy after an audio recording, released by an investigative outlet, appeared to show him discussing EU sanctions with his Russian counterpart days before an election that could shape Budapest’s relationship with Moscow, Reuters reports.

The recording, published by Warsaw-based Vsquare.org, purports to capture an August 2024 phone call between Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

Reuters said it was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the audio. However, in a video posted on Facebook, Szijjártó described the alleged interception of his calls as a “huge scandal.”

The leak comes a week after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ordered an investigation into what he said was the wiretapping of Szijjártó, as his government attempted to contain the political fallout from reports about Hungary’s ties to Russia.

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The episode is likely to deepen concerns among European Union officials that Hungary is advancing Russian interests from within the bloc, potentially undermining collective efforts to support Ukraine. Orbán has rejected such criticism, saying his priority is to keep Hungary out of the war while safeguarding national interests.

The nationalist leader now faces his most competitive election in 16 years, with a vote set for 12 April. The centre-right opposition Tisza party is currently leading in most independent opinion polls.

"We will do our best."

According to the recording released by Vsquare, Lavrov contacted Szijjártó to follow up on a commitment to help remove the sister of a Russian businessman from the EU’s sanctions list.

In the English-language audio, Szijjártó is heard saying that Hungary and Slovakia would put forward a proposal the following week to delist the individual.

“We will do our best to get her off,” Szijjártó says in the recording.

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Vsquare also reported on a separate call, for which it did not release audio, in which Szijjártó allegedly told Russia’s Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin that he was working to repeal EU sanctions targeting Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers.

A representative of Vsquare told Reuters the outlet had verified the recording using sources in multiple countries, as well as external audio experts. Reuters said it could not independently confirm either the authenticity of the audio or the account of the alleged conversation with Sorokin.

Szijjártó did not deny that the conversation with Lavrov took place and acknowledged that his communications had been intercepted.

“It is a huge scandal … that foreign secret services were continuously wiretapping my phone calls and that these foreign secret services have now made these phone calls public one and a half weeks before the Hungarian parliamentary election,” he said in the Facebook video.

The Russian government did not immediately respond to the report.

Slovakia’s foreign ministry said it “will not comment or convey the details of its negotiating positions or those of other member states.”

Warm ties with Russia

Orbán has maintained close relations with President Vladimir Putin despite Russia’s war in Ukraine, while Hungary continues to rely heavily on Russian oil and gas.

Szijjártó has made frequent visits to Moscow since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. On 4 March, he met Putin to discuss energy supplies, among other issues.

Earlier this month, The Washington Post reported that Szijjártó had for years made regular phone calls during breaks at EU meetings to brief Lavrov with what it described as “live reports on what’s been discussed”.

Szijjártó initially dismissed the report as “fake news” but later acknowledged consulting with non-EU countries before or after meetings of EU foreign ministers, including Russia, the U.S., Türkiye and Israel, describing the practice as “perfectly natural.”

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News Politics Hungary Russia EU Sanctions