Szijjártó admitted to regular calls with Lavrov during EU meetings
Kyiv • UNN
The Hungarian Foreign Minister confirmed contacts with his Russian counterpart on energy and security issues. The EU has restricted the exchange of classified data with Hungary due to the risk of leaks to Russia.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó admitted that he regularly contacts his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov during closed EU foreign policy meetings. This is reported by UNN with reference to Euronews.
Details
Szijjártó confirmed his telephone conversations with Lavrov, claiming that EU decisions on energy, the automotive industry, and security directly affect Hungary's relations with partners outside the bloc.
These issues need to be discussed with our partners outside the European Union. I communicate not only with the Russian Foreign Minister but also with our American, Turkish, Israeli, Serbian, and other colleagues before and after the meetings of the Council of the European Union. My words may sound harsh, but diplomacy is precisely about communicating with the leaders of other countries.
Recall
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has long provided Russians with access to closed discussions in the EU - Russian hackers also had full access to the networks of the Hungarian ministry.
Because of this, the European Union decided to reduce the exchange of confidential data with Budapest.
Subsequently, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ordered an investigation into the matter.