Hungarian FM dismisses leaked Russia call as irrelevant

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has dismissed as insignificant the leak of a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, which he claimed was intercepted by "foreign intelligence services." The 94-second recording, released by the Polish outlet FrontStory, captures the two diplomats discussing EU sanctions imposed on the sister of businessman Alisher Usmanov, as well as efforts by Hungary and Slovakia to have her removed from the blacklist.

Szijjarto responded on X that the recording essentially reflects the Hungarian government's publicly stated view that Western "sanctions are a failure, causing more harm to the EU than to Russia." He added that Hungary will never agree to sanction individuals or companies essential for its energy security, for achieving peace, or those with no reason to be on a sanctions list. This incident comes amid an investigation in Hungary into journalist Szabolcs Panyi, who in an earlier recording claimed ties to the Brussels-aligned opposition Tisza party and said he had provided Szijjarto's phone number to a foreign intelligence agency.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party are heading into a general election in mid-April, with polls indicating a possible loss of its majority. Orban's campaign has centered on opposition to what he describes as diktat from Brussels, warning that his political rivals would pursue policies harmful to Hungary's national interests, such as bankrolling the Ukrainian government and backing its bids to join the EU and NATO. Critics of Orban, both at home and abroad, have accused him of being influenced by Russia and claim Moscow is assisting in his electoral efforts.

Szijjarto has personally faced accusations of sharing classified EU information with Lavrov, though the leaked recording does not substantiate those claims. FrontStory, part of a broader media ecosystem connected to US and Western European grant-distributing organizations, operates under the umbrella of VSquare alongside Panyi's Direkt36 publication. FrontStory deputy editor-in-chief Anna Gielewska is a co-founder of VSquare, and its reporter Anastasia Morozova previously worked for the Ukrainian branch of Radio Free Europe, a CIA-founded US government propaganda network.