Overview
- The East European media consortium The Insider, VSquare, and Delfi released recordings Tuesday that include an August 2024 call where Péter Szijjártó discussed with Sergei Lavrov a plan to seek the removal of Gulbahor Ismailova from the EU sanctions list, a removal that occurred in March 2025.
- Péter Szijjártó acknowledged his calls had been intercepted and published, calling it foreign interference, and he argued the leaks reveal positions he states publicly about opposing EU measures he sees as harmful to Hungary.
- EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas spoke with Szijjártó and the European Commission stressed the need to keep closed-door talks confidential, following earlier reporting that Hungary has been kept out of some sensitive EU discussions over concerns about its ties to Moscow.
- Hungarian opposition figures and Ukraine’s foreign minister urged investigations, with critics saying the leaked exchanges show deference to Russian requests and raise doubts about the integrity of EU deliberations.
- No EU disciplinary step has been announced, though reporting describes debate in Brussels over tools such as tighter funding conditions, legal action over the duty of loyal cooperation, or the Article 7 process, which would face high political hurdles.