The prime ministers of Poland and Ireland have sharply condemned the actions of Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó after audio recordings of his conversations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov were leaked online.
In the recordings, Szijjártó allegedly assures Lavrov: “I am always at your service” — and helps on matters related to sanctions.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described the recordings as “depressing” and as confirmation of Budapest’s alarming dependence on Moscow. “It is hard to imagine anything more disgusting,” he said. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin called the situation “very sinister,” adding that the deferential tone of the conversations raises serious concerns.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas reminded that European ministers are obliged to work in the interests of Europe, not Russia.
Szijjártó did not deny the conversations took place, but shifted the focus elsewhere: according to him, the real scandal is that foreign intelligence services were wiretapping his phone and published the recordings less than two weeks before Hungary’s parliamentary elections, scheduled for April 12.
The leak came at an extremely difficult moment for Orbán: most polls show his Fidesz party trailing behind the opposition Tisza party led by Péter Magyar. The election results are being closely watched around the world, as they could significantly shift the balance of power both within the EU and among right-wing movements across Europe.