On December 14, 2023, at the European Council meeting in Brussels, EU leaders gathered to launch accession negotiations for Ukraine and Moldova. However, they faced strong opposition from one of the countries: Hungary. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán threatened to veto the decision and used the issue as leverage in his disputes with Brussels over more than 22 billion euros in EU cohesion and recovery funds frozen due to Hungary's rule of law violations.
Orbán, as usual, was accompanied by Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó, who left the meeting room during one of the breaks to call his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
"Peter, how are you? I'm fine", Lavrov greeted Szijjártó, who dutifully explained how the negotiations were going and what Hungary's plan for the meeting was. Lavrov certainly liked what he heard. "Okay, okay, yes, yes, excellent", the Russian said. "Sometimes well-intentioned direct blackmail is the best option".
But this time, Hungary's blackmail didn't work.
Viktor Orbán walked out of the chamber during the vote to open Ukraine's EU accession talks - part of a pre-arranged move - the German chancellor sent Orbán out for coffee - allowing the other 26 leaders to adopt the decision unanimously, while Hungary abstained, and managed to save his reputation. However, Szijjártó stayed to attend the talks, briefing the Kremlin almost simultaneously as events unfolded.
Recordings of conversations between Lavrov and Szijjártó from 2023 to 2025 have been obtained and confirmed by a consortium of investigative news outlets. The investigation revealed how Szijjártó acted at Lavrov’s request to push for the removal of the sister of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov from EU sanctions lists. It also revealed how the senior Hungarian diplomat coordinated with Russian Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin to interfere in the affairs of dozens of Russian companies and banks that were subject to restrictions as part of the EU’s 18th package of sanctions against Russia, which was being discussed in early summer 2025.
Yet Szijjártó’s role as Lavrov’s informant was by no means limited to revealing sensitive discussions and protocols within the EU. During their numerous phone calls, Szijjártó provided Lavrov with an invaluable stream of information about how a supposedly united Western coalition was preparing to increase pressure on Russia to end its aggressive war.
Hungary at all costs presented itself to Russia as something approaching a fifth column in Brussels: Szijjártó was always quick to contact Lavrov and ask for his advice (or permission) to take actions that were disadvantageous to the EU and Ukraine but highly advantageous to Moscow. As one intelligence official put it, their relationship was more like that between a spy and an agent on the ground than between two fellow foreign ministers.
These new revelations come at a time when Orbán’s government is facing its biggest threat to its hold on power in a decade and a half. Hungary’s parliamentary elections are on April 12, and his ruling Fidesz party is trailing by as much as 20% in the polls behind the opposition party "Tisa", led by former Orbán loyalist-turned-rival Peter Magyar.
Meanwhile, both Russia and the United States have intervened in Hungary's sovereign affairs on Orbán's behalf, using Kremlin resources on the ground.
The Russians have sent military intelligence operatives and "political technologists" to Hungary to sow disinformation and social media-driven narratives that portray Ukraine as the architect of misrule and subversion in Hungary, with a loss for "Fidesz" tantamount to inevitable war.
The Americans, for their part, have sent their vice president to Budapest to support Orbán's regime in the final days of the campaign. Yesterday, J.D. Vance led a rally for the embattled right-wing leader, whom he called "one of the few true statesmen in Europe", and accused the EU and Ukraine of doing what he himself was there to do: influence democratic elections.
Szijjártó leaked information to Russia not only about Ukraine
This is what the second part of the VSquare.org investigation says
***
On July 2, 2024 – the same day that Orbán visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kiev – Szijjártó called his “dear friend” Lavrov again to brief him on more than just what had happened between the two mutually suspicious European leaders in the war-torn capital. The timing of this conversation was crucial, as it came a week before the NATO summit in Washington, D.C., where Western support for Kiev, such as the newly established NATO Security and Training Program for Ukraine in Wiesbaden, Germany, would be a key item on the agenda. At that summit, a minimum baseline commitment of €40 billion was agreed for the coming year. The allies also confirmed that Ukraine's path to NATO membership was "irreversible," although they declined to extend a formal invitation to join.
A pre-summit agreement brokered by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg allowed Hungary to withdraw entirely from the NATO-Ukraine coordination mission - without the participation of Hungarian personnel or assets - in exchange for Budapest not blocking the remaining 31 allies from continuing.
In his call with Lavrov, Szijjártó asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin would receive Orbán before the NATO summit "anywhere in Russia," as "the prime minister is absolutely flexible on the location." According to Szijjarto, Orbán wanted to explain to Putin "the consequences of this meeting in Kiev".
Lavrov asked in what capacity Orbán would speak to Putin: as Hungarian Prime Minister or as "President of the European Union", meaning a rotating position open to all member states. Just a day earlier, on July 1, Hungary had begun its six-month presidency, which Orbán subsequently used to launch a "peace mission". Critics in the EU later called his attempt to commandeer the EU state apparatus through Ukraine and Russia “troll diplomacy.”
“We can’t separate the two, but I think it increases the importance of him being the president of the European Union,” Szijjártó replied.
Most importantly, Orbán’s plan to meet Putin — conveyed by Szijjártó to Lavrov during their conversation — was kept secret from Hungary’s EU and NATO allies, who only learned of it on July 4, the day before the planned visit. The secrecy was deliberate, European officials explained, a calculated move to prevent allies from resisting and potentially blocking the meeting. At the time, one official described it as a blatant violation of basic diplomatic norms between partners.
Putin wasted no time in taking advantage of the photo opportunity, opening the meeting by describing Orbán as a representative of the EU itself—the very scenario that Western capitals had feared. As the Lavrov-Szijjártó call revealed, it was also a scenario that had been secretly choreographed in advance between Budapest and Moscow. When news of the meeting broke, EU officials were quick to stress that Orbán was speaking only for Hungary, not for the bloc as a whole. But neither Orbán nor Putin saw it that way, as leaked phone conversations between Szijjártó and Lavrov show.
"Now it is clear from their phone conversation that he went as a representative of the Council," said a senior EU official. "It is incredible that Szijjártó is asking Orbán for an invitation to Moscow, and it is very awkward for him to do so in the case of an aggressor. It is quite clear that the Hungarians were deceiving the European Union". As it turned out, this conversation was not a one-way request. Lavrov had his own favor to ask Szijjártó:
S. Lavrov: Look, I also wanted to call and check on the compromise you reached with the European Union on the start of accession negotiations with Ukraine. There were reports that the language of national minorities played a decisive role.
Szijjártó: Absolutely. That was the case.
Szijjártó: We are trying to get hold of the exact document, but...
Szijjártó: I will send it to you. No problem.
(...)
S. Lavrov: Okay, Peter, if you can send me the document, I will be grateful.
Szijjártó: I will do it right away. I am sending it to the embassy in Moscow and my ambassador will forward it to your chief of staff and then it is at your disposal".
It is not clear from the conversation what document Szijjártó promised to send to Lavrov via the Hungarian embassy in Moscow.
The senior EU official said "with 99% certainty" that the document Szijjártó promised to send to Lavrov was the negotiating framework, which was already public at the time. "I don't understand why Lavrov played this game with him at all. This framework is a public document".
One possibility, according to a senior Western intelligence official, is that Lavrov was simply testing the limits to which Szijjarto would go in providing information to Russia. "It's almost like a loyalty test, to gauge an asset's willingness to follow orders or comply with tasks," the official explained. "This is like recruitment 101".
However, according to the senior EU diplomat, it is not even a "broker-agent" situation, but rather how Szijjártó is "just a useful idiot".
***
A key topic of concern for both foreign ministers is the rights of minorities in Ukraine, long seen as a pretext for the Kremlin to justify military action not only against a neighbor, but anywhere where ethnic Russians or Russian-speaking people live.
A few weeks before the July 2, 2024, conversation, diplomatic tensions between Hungary and the EU reached their peak. Budapest was once again blocking funds for Ukraine, and the EU was working on mechanisms to circumvent its veto. The stakes were a list of 11 points put forward by Hungary regarding the rights of the Hungarian minority in the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine, with a population estimated at around 100,000. Meeting these demands was a condition that Orbán’s government insisted on in return for its support for Ukraine’s EU accession negotiations.
Meanwhile, Brussels had its own complaints about Budapest over its treatment of refugees from the war. On June 13, 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union imposed a €200 million fine on Hungary for violating EU asylum rules.
There is now evidence that while Orbán and Szijjarto were officially fighting for the rights of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine, the Hungarian Foreign Ministry was colluding with Lavrov to promote the cause of the rights of the Russian minority in the country.
In a conversation between Szijjarto and Lavrov on June 17, the two discussed the issue at length. Szijjarto boasted that he felt great after meeting politicians in Brussels: "Even though they usually shout at me... at the end of the day, I always tell myself that at least I had fun".
"Yes, you know, you know how to deal with them," Lavrov replied. Szijjártó then launched into a detailed account of his discussions with the EU on Hungary’s eleven points and “how to get back those rights that we already had.” Lavrov, however, steered the conversation back to the Russians in Ukraine and how failure to comply with the Kremlin’s demands could stall or derail Ukraine’s accession process. Szijjártó replied that respect for minority rights was a universal principle governing the Council of Europe—“one day it’s your minority, the next day it’s ours”—a response that apparently satisfied Lavrov.
“You know, Sergei,” Szijjártó said, “I’m always at your disposal.”
“I’m sick of seeing Szijjártó discussing with the aggressor how to put pressure on Ukraine, saying here that today it’s our minorities, tomorrow it’s yours,” the senior EU official pointed out. "At the same time, the negotiating framework states that Ukraine must comply with all its international obligations and bilateral agreements with EU member states on these issues. Szijjártó is actually lying to Lavrov, because the negotiating framework does not refer to other countries or minorities, but only talks about Ukraine's agreements with EU member states".
In the same conversation, the Hungarian foreign minister also shared his interaction with then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, an outspoken supporter of Ukraine, to whom Szijjártó conveyed the importance of maintaining a direct line with Russia in order to achieve a quick end to the war. "And we can convey any messages, we can make any contacts", Szijjártó relayed Trudeau's comment to Lavrov. "And, you know, Trudeau nodded: "How good! How good!". And I said: Okay, Mr. Prime Minister, now you are nodding, but then please don't consider your relationship with Russia a bad thing."
"Yes. Trudeau is a disaster," Lavrov confirmed. Before they signed, Szijjártó shared his idea - already approved by Orbán - to convene a meeting of the Hungarian-Russian intergovernmental commission. "Do you have any negative feelings about this?" he asked. Lavrov assured him: "No, not at all. Not at all. Only positive ones.".
Prodded in this way, Szijjártó said he planned to contact Russian Health Minister Mikhail Murashko, co-chair of the Hungarian-Russian intergovernmental commission, to convene the meeting in Budapest.
***
On June 19, 2025, during the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Szijjártó met with Russian Deputy Prime Ministers Denis Manturov and Alexander Novak to discuss energy supplies. On June 22, Szijjártó called Lavrov to inform him of his talks with Lavrov's colleagues, who had already read the text of their conversation to the Russian. "I told them that you know that we are again fighting the stupid idiotic proposal of the European Commission to cut us off from energy sources from Russia. And you know that I ask them to make sure that your presidential decree will be extended, which allows us to pay for gas through OTP", Szijjártó explained, referring to a prominent Budapest-based bank serving countries in Central and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine. "You know that this is being assessed until July 1st and I ask them to make sure that it will be extended".
Szijjártó was alluding to the controversy over the European Commission's 2025 proposal to phase out imports of Russian energy resources into the EU. The Commission first announced the REPowerEU roadmap and then proposed legally binding provisions aimed at ending Russian gas imports by the end of 2027. The mechanism is designed to circumvent a potential veto from Budapest and Bratislava, as it does not rely solely on sanctions requiring unanimity.
From Orbán's perspective, this proposal is not just a threat to the overall "relationship" Hungary's relationship with Russia, but is linked to a very specific interest: maintaining supplies of raw materials and payment instruments that allow the continuation of the purchase of Russian gas.
At the end of June 2025, Szijjártó announced that Russia had extended the validity of the decree allowing Hungary to pay for gas through OTP Bank until October 2025, which explains the part of the conversation about the need to extend the Russian decree before July 1. Most importantly, it reaffirms the coordination between Budapest and Moscow.
Szijjártó also mentioned the coordination with Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár, as well as the battle in the EU Council. In June 2025, Hungary and Slovakia blocked the 18th EU sanctions package on the grounds that the EU's parallel plans to cut off Russian energy supplies threatened their energy security. Prime Minister Robert Fico went so far as to call the Commission's plan "economic suicide" in the absence of alternatives to Russian gas, oil and nuclear fuel.
The conversation between Szijjártó and Lavrov reveals not just "friendly contacts" with Moscow, but also a coordinated Budapest-Bratislava line that has influenced decisions across the EU. Since EU sanctions require unanimity, even a single country can block them. Therefore, Hungary and Slovakia took advantage of their position by linking the issue of sanctions to that of energy.
The Slovak Foreign Ministry stated that "this issue is not coordinated at the level of the EU Foreign Affairs Council". Blanar said in July 2025: "Our blocking of the 18th package of sanctions proved to be crucial for reaching some kind of agreement to mitigate the consequences of the reckless severance of the connection with accessible energy sources from Russia".
Lavrov highly appreciated this friendly attitude towards Russia, which he praised in another conversation with Szijjártó on August 16, 2025, this time focusing primarily on the recently concluded meeting between Putin and Trump in Anchorage, Alaska.
"We know that our friends like Viktor Orbán, you and Robert Fico understand us", Lavrov assured Szijjártó, indicating the friendly sentiments towards Russia of the Prime Minister of Slovakia. "And the rest, it's up to them to decide whether they are mature or still immature politicians".
In the same conversation, Szijjártó tried to gather more behind-the-scenes details from the Alaska summit, which failed to produce an agreement on Ukraine but sparked huge discontent in Europe that the final settlement of the war - if not the future of European security - was being discussed while ignoring EU and NATO allies, as well as Ukraine itself.
What particularly interested Szijjártó was the canceled lunch between Putin and Trump and the Russian president's hasty departure from American soil after less than three hours of bilateral talks. Was this "not a signal of bad mood or disappointment between the two of you?".
Lavrov assured him that in fact the joint meal "was not canceled. And lunch is not something I would really like, knowing the American gastronomic art".
S. Lavrov: Hello!
P. Szijjarto: Hello, Sergey! This is Peter speaking.
S. Lavrov: Yes, how are you, Peter?
P. Szijjarto: Sorry to call you, it must be very late in Moscow already.
S. Lavrov: No, it's only half past nine.
P. Szijjarto: But you've had a very long day, I understand, very stressful.
S. Lavrov: Well, the longer the day, the longer we live.
P. Szijjarto: Oh my God, that's right. That's right. I just wanted to congratulate you because I understand that there was some success. I see how worried our European friends are, but I just wanted to make sure that you know that Hungary supports all the efforts and all the achievements that you have made today.
S. Lavrov: Yes, we appreciate the Prime Minister's statement, and it was a very direct statement. And I think that's something that other Europeans should take into account.
P. Szijjarto: They usually do it and then they put it in the framework of financial sanctions against us. So, you know.
S. Lavrov: [laughs]
P. Szijjarto: [laughs] That's how they do it. But can I ask you, Sergei, did it go as well as it's being portrayed in the media?
S. Lavrov: Well, the president made it very clear that this was a very useful and successful summit during the joint press conference. And then Trump gave a separate interview to Fox News where he said all the right things, that on a scale of 1 to 10 he would give this summit a "10" and that the progress is very significant. There are one or two issues, as he said, and that now it's Zelensky's turn to accept the deal. That's exactly what was discussed and he accepted that sequence. We'll see what the outcome of Zelensky's visit to Washington on Monday will be.
P. Szijjarto: Can I ask you if you've made any progress in economic cooperation with the Americans to restart your economic and trade relations, you know, because it has...
S. Lavrov: It wasn't discussed, Peter.
P. Szijjarto: It wasn't discussed, huh, okay.
S. Lavrov: No.
P. Szijjarto: Okay. So the economy was not on the agenda.
S. Lavrov: This is an issue that was discussed in the past and it was very clearly stated by the Americans that if they managed to get Ukraine out of the way, there would be no restrictions.
P. Szijjarto: No restrictions. Uh. Okay. But can we consider it more or less certain that as long as these encouraging talks continue, the Americans will not impose any other sanctions?
S. Lavrov: We did not discuss sanctions.
P. Szijjarto: Oh, you did not discuss it at all?
S. Lavrov: No. There was a very friendly conversation on many things, including, you know, some absolutely personal issues that are not related to any politics. But with regard to Ukraine, we clearly explained and I think Trump got the point when he said in his Fox News interview that a long-term sustainable peace is much better than a ceasefire.
P. Szijjarto: Yes.
S. Lavrov: That is our position.
P. Szijjarto: Yes, yes, yes. So the root causes must be addressed.
S. Lavrov: Absolutely.
P. Szijjarto: And do you think that now the Americans have a deeper understanding? Because I remember when President Trump took office, he was very, let's say, encouraged to resolve the situation quickly, but now they understand better that it is not just about, you know, ending the conflict.
S. Lavrov: No, we didn't discuss it, but he said some time ago that when he said he would resolve it in 24 hours, he was wrong. No, we didn't discuss it, Peter.
P. Szijjarto: Yes, yes, okay. I understand.
S. Lavrov: Basically, the presidents made a very detailed presentation at their joint press conference.
P. Szijjarto: Yes, okay, that's good. If it was as discussed, then great. Because, you know, there was a debriefing of the EU ambassadors in Brussels today, and I didn't feel that the Europeans would be very happy, right? And so I felt that things might have gone well.
S. Lavrov: Well, our goal was to think about realistic ways to end the war, not to please the European ambassadors.
P. Szijjarto: Yes, okay, okay, okay. Yes, yes, I agree.
***
On August 12, 2025, EU leaders stressed that "Ukraine has the right to decide its own destiny" and that they will continue to support Kiev's path to the EU. Hungary did not sign this statement. A few days later, EU leaders reiterated that the path to peace cannot be defined without Ukraine and that pressure on Russia must be maintained.
Hungary, as is clear from the above conversation, has been acting as Russia's representative in the EU, using its own energy security as leverage to negate or dilute EU decisions that are at odds with the Kremlin. Furthermore, Szijjártó's allusion to "root causes" of the war reflects a Russian thesis: namely, that Moscow was forced to invade Ukraine because of NATO expansion or the seemingly hostile actions by the United States and Europe since the end of the Cold War - actions in which Hungary, as a member of NATO and the EU, participated.
In public statements, Lavrov and the Kremlin have consistently used the phrase "root causes" to reject the very idea of an unconditional ceasefire along the current line of contact in Ukraine - a policy adopted and then abandoned by the Trump White House - in favor of broader political and territorial concessions extending far beyond Ukraine's sovereign borders. In short, what was at stake was the future of Europe and America's role in it - something that a European country - Hungary - was leading on behalf of a hostile foreign adversary.
"As Szijjártó himself tells Lavrov", the senior EU official noted, "I am at your disposal. Indeed I am. Very uncomfortable, disloyal behavior towards Europe, he is like a little idiot being pushed and pulled".