Less than two weeks before the elections in Hungary, Viktor Orbán’s government is under the spotlight and facing criticism. Péter Szijjártó, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is accused of “collusion with Russia” by a consortium of media outlets who published the presumed recording of one of his calls with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
In August 2024, following a visit to Saint Petersburg, Lavrov called Szijjártó to reiterate a request for a favor: Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov wanted his sister, Gulbahor Ismailova, removed from the European Union’s sanctions list. Peter Szijjártó explained that Hungary plans to submit a proposal to the EU, along with Slovakia, to this effect.
The conversation, in English, where a common disdain for the EU is expressed, “highlights the excessive courtesy between Szijjártó, representing an EU and NATO member state, and Lavrov, representing a country that has invaded and occupied a European state,” as emphasized in the investigation notably published by the Russian media outlet based in Latvia, The Insider.
During this call and others that occurred between 2023 and 2025, “sensitive information has been exchanged regarding internal deliberations in Budapest and Brussels, which undoubtedly interests…”
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