New Details, Audio Leak Shows Hungary Coordinating Actions with Kremlin to Delay Ukraine's EU Membership

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on December 2, 2024. According to an investigation published on April 8, Szijjarto coordinated his actions with Lavrov regarding Ukraine's membership in the European Union, keeping him informed about ongoing meetings and sharing EU documents.

This investigation, co-authored by publications such as VSquare, Frontstory, Delfi Estonia, The Insider, and ICJK, is the second installment in a series exploring the secret collaboration between Budapest and Moscow. The first part, published in March, focused on how Szijjarto lobbied the EU to exclude Russian individuals and businesses from sanctions at the Kremlin's request.

Journalists obtained audio recordings of conversations between Szijjarto and Lavrov from 2023 to 2025. These conversations reveal how Szijjarto employs a respectful tone when communicating with the Russian minister, providing the Kremlin with ongoing information about European allies' plans to counter Russian aggression against Ukraine.

The recordings also confirm information published by the Washington Post on March 21, indicating that Szijjarto regularly calls Lavrov during breaks in EU meetings to share relevant updates regarding discussions.

One recorded conversation from December 14, 2023, shows Szijjarto calling Lavrov during a European Council meeting dedicated to opening negotiations on Ukraine and Moldova's accession. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had firmly opposed the initiation of negotiations and threatened to veto, leveraging Budapest's veto power in disputes with Brussels over withheld funds due to rule-of-law violations in Hungary.

“Good, good, yes, yes, excellent,” Lavrov responds after Szijjarto outlines the plan in detail. “Sometimes friendly direct blackmail is the best option.”

In another conversation regarding Ukraine's EU membership, Lavrov requests an EU document related to the matter, and Szijjarto promises to provide it. “I will do this immediately. I will send it to my embassy in Moscow, and my ambassador will pass it to your chief of staff, and then it will be at your disposal,” Szijjarto states.

When initial reports about Szijjarto's briefings for Moscow surfaced in the media, the official initially dismissed these claims as “fake news.” In response to the audio recordings published on April 8, Szijjarto this time accused foreign intelligence services of conducting a wiretapping campaign.

“Foreign intelligence interference in the parliamentary elections in Hungary is ongoing in an unusually aggressive and open form,” he wrote on social media platform X. “Some foreign intelligence services, involving a Hungarian journalist, have been wiretapping and publishing phone conversations, again today.”

Hungarians will go to the polls on April 12, where there will be an attempt to break Orban's 16-year rule. Polls indicate that Orban's party, Fidesz, is trailing behind the Tisza party led by opposition figure Peter Magyar.

The Orban government has increasingly blamed Ukraine as the elections approach, utilizing support from Russian propaganda campaigns.