Leaked recordings suggest Szijjártó offered sensitive EU accession document to Russia

The recordings were published by investigative journalists from VSquare.org, Ukrinform reports.

The phone call recordings between Lavrov and Szijjártó were obtained and confirmed by a consortium of investigative news outlets consisting of VSquare, FRONTSTORY, Delfi Estonia, The Insider, and the Investigative Center of Ján Kuciak (ICJK).

In a conversation dated July 2, 2024, Lavrov told Szijjártó over the phone that Moscow was trying to obtain a document concerning the role of the language of national minorities in negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU.

“I will send it to you. It’s not a problem,” the Hungarian foreign minister replied. “I will do it immediately. I will send it to my embassy in Moscow, and my ambassador will forward it to your chief of staff, and then it’s at your disposal.”

However, it remains unclear which specific document was being referred to and whether it is publicly available. Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to journalists’ request regarding the document.

Earlier, on June 17 of the same year, Szijjártó discussed with Lavrov the advancement of the rights of the Russian minority in Ukraine. Szijjártó outlined his discussions with the EU regarding Hungary’s eleven points concerning the Hungarian minority in Ukraine and “how to give back those rights we have already had.” Lavrov, however, steered the conversation back to Russians in Ukraine and how a failure to honor what the Kremlin demanded might deter or derail Ukraine’s accession process. Szijjártó responded that respect for minority rights is a universal principle governing the work of the Council of Europe – “one day it is your minority and then the next day ours’ – a response that apparently satisfied Lavrov. “You know, Sergey,” Szijjártó added, “I am always at your disposal.”

In another conversation dated December 14, 2023, when negotiations on the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the EU began at a meeting of the European Council in Brussels, attended by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Szijjártó, the Hungarian foreign minister called Lavrov during a break to describe how the talks were proceeding and what Hungary’s plan for the meeting entailed.

Other conversations, detailed in written form, concern preparations on two topics: organizing Orbán’s trip to Moscow in 2024, when Hungary held the EU presidency, and blocking another package of EU sanctions against Russia in 2025.

In another audio recording, Szijjártó asks Lavrov about the details of what was discussed at a meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska in 2025.

As reported by Ukrinform, the Hungarian government has signed an agreement with Russia to expand economic, trade, energy, and cultural ties between the two countries.