Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjarto has condemned "foreign interference" in the country's election campaign, following the release of wiretapped telephone conversations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Telex.hu wrote on March 31.

Szijjarto described the recording as “a very big scandal”, thus acknowledging its veracity, but said the interception of his calls by foreign intelligence services serves Ukraine's interests.

A few days earlier, when transcripts of a 2020 call with Lavrov were made public by Vsquare, which showed that he had lobbied for then-Czech PM Peter Pellegrini to be hosted in Moscow, he described it as “part of diplomacy”.

After the release of the latest audio, he put out a sarcastic Facebook post saying: "Today, the eavesdroppers made another huge 'discovery': they proved that I say the same thing publicly as I do on the phone… Nice work! … Besides, the surveillance list is incomplete: regarding sanctions, I regularly consult and have consulted with the foreign ministers of several other non-EU countries as well."

On the 90-second audio tape, published by Warsaw-based Vsquare.org and reportedly dated August 2024, Hungary's chief diplomat is heard speaking with Lavrov, who pushed for the removal of Russian-Uzbek oligarch Alisher Usmanov's sister from the EU's sanctions list. Gulbahor Ismailova was sanctioned for her role in managing Usmanov's assets to circumvent EU restrictions on the oligarch.

"Look, I am calling on the request of Alisher, and he just asked me to remind you that you were doing something about his sister," Lavrov was heard telling his Hungarian colleague to which he responded: "Yeah, absolutely."

In the call, initiated by Lavrov shortly after Szijjarto returned home from St Petersburg, the Hungarian FM gave his promise that Budapest and Slovakia would submit a proposal to the EU to have Ismailova removed from the list, which eventually unfolded seven months later.

The recordings further reveal that the ministers discussed their shared criticism of the European Union, including EU High Representative Josep Borrell, whom Lavrov called his "biggest disappointment”, while Szijjarto disparagingly referred to him as the "European Biden”.

Before hanging up, the Hungarian minister enthused about the new Gazprom headquarters he had visited in Russia, adding, "I am always at your disposal."

A separate recording suggests Szijjarto also discussed with Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin ways to weaken EU sanctions targeting Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" of oil tankers, and also gave his word to work for the removal of Russian banks from the blacklist.

Hungary’s chief diplomat told Sorokin that he was opposing the entire sanctions package and trying to save as many Russian entities as possible.

"I'm doing my best to have it repealed. The thing is, I have already removed 72 [entities] from the list, but there were 128 to start. I'm trying to continue, but I have to say that this is in the interest of Hungary," Szijjarto said.

Hungary's chief diplomat even asked the Russians to provide him with arguments as to why doing so would be in Hungary's interest.

"If they [Sorokin's staff] can help me identify the direct and negative effects on Hungary, I would be very grateful," he added, "because if I can show something like that, you would give me a completely different opportunity." Szijjarto also shared details with Sorokin on where the then-ongoing negotiations on the EU's 18th sanctions package stood at that time; the package was adopted in July 2025.

The revelations come less than two weeks after on March 14 the Washington Post reported that Szijjarto had regularly been sharing information over the phone with Lavrov during breaks in EU talks, almost in real time.

"Every single EU meeting for years has basically had Moscow behind the table," a European security official told the Post, which did not have the verbatim transcripts of these calls.

The revelations add to scrutiny of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's pro-Kremlin orientation and may shed light on Moscow's interest in supporting Orban and his Fidesz party ahead of Hungary's high-stakes general election.

The European Commission declined to comment on the latest revelations. Spokeswoman Anitta Hipper noted that EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas had recently spoken with Szijjarto, reminding him of the confidentiality of closed-door negotiations.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk criticised Szijjarto's discussions with Moscow as “repulsive", "ominous" and “unacceptable". Tusk described the recordings as confirmation of the "deeply troubling political dependence" of the Hungarian government on Russian authorities, calling the relationship "bizarre" and "incompatible" with EU membership.

On X, he said that Hungary is and will be in the EU, but that Orban and his foreign minister left Europe long ago.

Géza Jeszenszky, the first foreign minister of Hungary’s first democratic cabinet after the regime change in 1990, said the tape shows that the Hungarian government is lobbying for Russian interests in a "servile tone" not seen since the Communist era leaders in the 1960s-70s, effectively signalling that the country has switched allegiances.

The Hungarian government may have succeeded in lobbying on behalf of Russian individuals because the EU often prioritised passing a sanctions package over blocking the process for the sake of a few names, Laszlo Arato, the EU correspondent of Hvg.hu notes.

The recordings indicate a level of deference from Szijjarto towards Moscow that goes beyond routine diplomatic engagement. A senior European intelligence official noted that the transcripts suggest Szijjarto acted like an intelligence asset, conveying sensitive information about EU deliberations and internal decision-making, Vsquare journalist Szabolcs Panyi wrote on social media.

Panyi, a long-time critic of the government, came under intense pressure after releasing transcripts of the Szijjarto-Lavrov conversations from February 2020. Orban called on his justice minister to launch an investigation against the journalist, who has been labelled a Ukrainian spy by Orban-loyal media. The journalist called the espionage allegation unprecedented in an EU country, describing it as a Russian-style operation by the government.

With the release of the audio tapes and other scandals, such as the flawed intelligence operation against Tisza, it appears that Fidesz has lost the narrative in the campaign, political analysts say.

Orban’s core campaign message is that he is the only candidate capable of keeping Hungary out of the war and providing security, while Peter Magyar, portrayed as a Brussels and Kyiv puppet, is cast as the main risk. The opposition leader is campaigning on a pro-EU, anti-corruption platform, accusing Orban of turning Hungary into a feudal kleptocracy, the EU's poorest and most corrupt country, during his 16-year tenure.