Hungarian foreign minister brushes off leaked Russia call

A “foreign intelligence service” allegedly intercepted Peter Szijjarto’s discussion with Sergey Lavrov about sanctions

The leaked phone conversation between Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov was insignificant, the EU nation's top diplomat has said.

Szijjarto reacted on Tuesday to the publication of the call, which he claimed had been intercepted by “foreign intelligence services.” The 94-second recording was released by the Polish outlet FrontStory, which attempted to present it as evidence of the minister “acting on behalf of the Kremlin.”

The audio captures Szijjarto and Lavrov 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. Writing on X, Szijjarto said 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.”

“Hungary will never agree to sanction [by targeting] individuals or companies essential for our energy security, for achieving peace, or those with no reason to be on a sanctions list,” Szijjarto added.

Allegations of foreign surveillance of the minister’s communications had previously triggered an investigation in Hungary of journalist Szabolcs Panyi. In an audio recording published earlier this month by a Hungarian conservative outlet, Panyi 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’s Fidesz party is heading into a general election in mid-April, with polls indicating a possible loss of its majority. His campaign has centered on opposition to what he describes as diktat from Brussels. Orban has warned that his political rivals would pursue policies harmful to Hungary’s national interests, including bankrolling the Ukrainian government and backing the country’s bids to join the EU and NATO.

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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 published by FrontStory does not substantiate those claims.

The Polish outlet is part of a broader media ecosystem connected to US and Western European grant-distributing organizations. It works under the umbrella of VSquare, alongside with Panyi’s Direkt36 publication. FrontStory deputy editor-in-chief Anna Gielewska is a co-founder of VSquare. Its reporter Anastasia Morozova – a regular VSquare contributor like Panyi – previously worked for the Ukrainian branch of Radio Free Europe, a CIA-founded US government propaganda network.