A leaked audio recording of Hungary’s foreign minister discussing EU sanctions with his Russian counterpart has surfaced days before a pivotal election, potentially altering its pro-Moscow course.
Released by Warsaw-based Vsquare.org on Tuesday, the clip allegedly captures an August 2024 call between Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov.
Reuters could not independently verify its authenticity, though Mr Szijjarto, on Facebook, called the wiretapping a “huge scandal”.
The leak follows PM Viktor Orban’s recent investigation order into alleged wiretapping of Mr Szijjarto, to contain fallout from media reports on Hungary’s Russia ties.
This underscores EU unease that Hungary serves Russia’s interests, undermining bloc efforts to aid Ukraine. Mr Orban maintains his aim is to keep Hungary out of the war and protect its interests.
Mr Orban, a veteran nationalist, faces his toughest election in 16 years on 12 April. The centre-right Tisza party leads most independent polls significantly.
According to the recording published by Vsquare, Lavrov called Szijjarto to remind him of a promise to help remove the sister of a Russian businessman from the EU’s sanctions list.
In the English-language audio, Szijjarto responds that Hungary and Slovakia would submit a proposal the following week to remove the woman from the list.
“We will do our best in order to get her off,” Szijjarto says in the recording.
Vsquare also reported on a separate call, for which it did not provide audio, in which Szijjarto allegedly told Russia’s Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin that he was working to repeal EU sanctions targeting Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers.
A Vsquare representative told Reuters the outlet independently verified the audio recording using sources in more than one country and with the help of external audio experts.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the recording or the account of the call with Sorokin.
Szijjarto did not deny that the call with Lavrov took place and acknowledged that his conversations 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 a video on his Facebook page.
The Russian government did not immediately comment.
The Slovak Foreign Ministry said it “will not comment or convey the details of its negotiating positions or those of other member states”.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told a news conference removing someone from an EU sanctions list requires the agreement of all 27 member states.
“So you cannot accuse anyone of being a Russian agent; then you must accuse all 27 member states of being Russian agents if they have reached a decision,” he said.
Orban has fostered warm ties with President Vladimir Putin despite Russia’s war in Ukraine, while maintaining Hungary’s heavy reliance on Russian oil and gas.
Szijjarto has travelled frequently to Moscow since Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. On March 4, he met Putin to discuss oil supplies, among other issues.
Earlier this month, the Washington Post reported that Szijjarto had for years made regular phone calls during breaks at EU meetings to brief Lavrov with what the paper described as “live reports on what’s been discussed”.
Szijjarto initially dismissed that report as “fake news” but later acknowledged consulting with non-EU countries before or after meetings of EU foreign ministers, including Russia, the US, Turkey and Israel, saying this was “perfectly natural”.
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