Speaking of the €90bn loan and EU sanctions against Russia, and Hungary’s role in all of this, more details have now emerged alleging close contact between Hungary’s foreign minister Péter Szijjártó and senior Russian ministers.

A joint investigation by The Insider and four regional media VSquare, DelfiEE, FrontStory and the Investigative Center of Ján Kuciak, published this morning, alleged that Szijjártó regularly discussed the EU’s confidential plans on sanctions with Russian officials, actively looking for ways to block or delay their adoption.

In a series of conversations reported by the outlets, the Hungarian foreign minister reportedly told Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov that he is “always at your disposal” and offered help with removing certain individuals from EU sanctions.

Former Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis confirmed the authenticity of one of the exchanges that Szijjártó reportedly relayed onwards to the Russians.

One of the authors of the article, Szabolcs Panyi, one of the country’s most prominent investigative journalists, was last week accused by the Hungarian government of spying for Ukraine, a move widely condemned by media rights watchdogs.

The five media outlets said Szijjártó did not reply to their request for comment.

He has responded on X this morning seeking to ridicule the reporting by saying “they proved that I say the same publicly as I do on the phone. Nice work!”

“For four years we have been saying that sanctions are a failure, causing more harm to the EU than to Russia. Hungary will never agree to sanction individuals or companies essential for our energy security, for achieving peace, or those with no reason to be on a sanctions list,” he said.

Szijjártó had previously dismissed earlier reporting on this as fake news, but confirmed he held some calls with third-country partners, saying this was part of routine diplomacy.

The report is likely to cause further frustration in Brussels and in EU capitals amid growing anger over Hungary’s close relations to Russia, with both prime minister Viktor Orbán and Szijjártó regularly visiting Moscow.

The latest relevations come less than two weeks before the critical parliamentary election in the country, which could see Orbán ousted after 16 years in power.

It’s safe to say we are very likely to see someone ask the Commission for their reaction at their midday briefing later today.