Sybiha calls on EU to assess Szijjarto's close contacts with Lavrov

This was stated by Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha at a joint press conference in Kyiv with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Sybiha noted that despite a busy schedule, he had found time to listen to recordings of conversations between Szijjártó and Lavrov that were released in the media space.

"For me, these are not conversations. This is ingratiating reporting to Russian 'patrons'… and it should indeed be the subject of an investigation," Sybiha said.

He emphasized that briefing Lavrov by Hungary's foreign minister poses a threat to discussion platforms within the European Union, including closed ones. "Ukraine is often invited and provides briefings on the objective situation. Therefore, we would very much like to see an appropriate response to this development. In general, we believe that it is Moscow that should fear discussions within the European Union, not the other way around," the minister stressed.

As Ukrinform previously reported, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó had informed his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov about steps he had taken to persuade the EU to lift sanctions from Gulbahor Ismailova, the sister of sanctioned Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov.

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