The pressure on Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has increased sharply before the April 12 elections. Phone records reveal how he advocates for Russia and provides the Kremlin with inside information from the EU.
Phone records reveal how Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto defends Russian interests before the EU. The investigative website “Vsquare“ has released a minute and a half of Szijjarto's conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on YouTube.
A plea for help on behalf of a Russian oligarch
The conversation apparently concerns the sister of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov - Gulbahar Ismailova. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she was included in the EU sanctions list. And billionaire Usmanov is one of Putin's closest businessmen, notes “Handelsblatt“.
In the phone conversation, Lavrov thanked Usmanov on behalf of Budapest for the support. “He will be very happy“, the minister said. “He is very worried about his sister.“Seven months after the conversation, held on August 30, 2024, Ismailova was removed from the EU sanctions list.
The revelations increase the pressure on Szijjarto and the ruling “Fidesz“ party of Prime Minister Viktor Orban ahead of the parliamentary elections in Hungary on April 12, the German publication writes. A week ago, the Washington Post, citing security sources, reported that Szijjártó regularly spoke on the phone with Lavrov during breaks between meetings of EU foreign ministers. The main accusation against him is that he is a "Russian mole" and provides the Kremlin with inside information from the EU - that is why he held talks with Lavrov before and after the meetings, which he admits to, but describes as "normal diplomacy."
After the publication of Vsquare, he emphasized that he regularly talks with representatives of non-EU countries about sanctions. "It has long been known that foreign secret services eavesdrop on my conversations with the active participation of Hungarian journalists," Szijjártó wrote on the X platform. He said in the phone calls the same thing he said in public. Hungary would never agree to sanctions against a person for which there are no grounds.
On Tuesday, the EC did not want to explain how the decision on Usmanov's sister was made at the time. The sanctions lists were approved unanimously by all 27 member states, an EC spokeswoman said. Individual decisions were generally not commented on.
And other revelations
„Vsquare“ also writes about another phone conversation with Szijjártó from the end of June 2025. In it, he promises Russia's Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin to ensure that the planned EU sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet are relaxed. According to the website, Szijjártó says that he has already removed 72 companies from the list, but there were 128 in total. Therefore, it would be useful if Russia provided him with additional arguments as to why sanctions against it are not good for Hungary.
The revelations about Szijjártó's phone calls are not surprising to other Europeans, writes “Handelsblatt“. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Hungarian foreign minister has visited Moscow 16 times, most recently in early March. For years, Orbán's government has been advocating Russian positions in the EU, presenting them as Hungary's interests.
Last week, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk explained in X that for this reason he only says the bare minimum at EU meetings. “Tusk's reaction shows how little trust the EU Council countries have in Hungary,“ points out Zuzana Weg of the German Marshall Fund think tank. The articles make it clear that Szijjarto has been advocating for Russian businessmen who have no connection to Hungary. "If this is true, the question arises as to whom his loyalty lies," Veg notes.
The problem lies with the entire Hungarian government
Usually, after such compromising material, a foreign minister would have to resign, the expert points out. But that will not happen. In the case of Hungary, a resignation would not lead to change, since the problem is not the individual, but the government as a whole.
No criticism can be expected from the EC - it would not want to attract unnecessary attention during the Hungarian election campaign. Following the information in the "Washington Post" last week, the EU expressed "concern" and demanded "clarity" from Budapest. But that's all, writes “Handelsblatt“.