Lavrov asked Szijjarto to help lift sanctions on Russian oligarchs, and Szijjarto leaked details of EU negotiations to Russia. Media publish recordings of conversations

Hungarian journalists have published audio recordings of conversations between Russian and Hungarian Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov and Peter Szijjarto, which suggest that Hungary acted in Russiaʼs interests in the European Union.

The transcript of Szijjártóʼs conversations with Lavrov and other Russian officials was published by investigative journalists from the VSquare, FRONTSTORY, Delfi Estonia, The Insider, and ICJK projects.

In particular, in August 2024, just an hour after Szijjártó arrived in Budapest from St. Petersburg, Lavrov called him at the request of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, who is said to be one of Putin’s favorite businessmen. Usmanov himself is under sanctions by the EU, the US, Canada and the UK over Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The oligarch wanted his sister, Gulbahor Ismailova, removed from the EU sanctions list, and Szijjártó promised to help.

"The point is that together with the Slovaks, we are submitting a proposal to the European Union to remove it from the list. We will submit it next week, and since a new review period will begin, this issue will be included on the agenda, and we will do everything possible to remove it from the list," Szijjártó said at the time.

Lavrov was pleased and expressed his gratitude for the "support and fight for equality in all areas".

However, Ismailovaʼs case was not the only time Szijjártó worked to ease economic sanctions against influential Russians. Seven months after this conversation, Ismailova was removed from the EU sanctions list, along with Russian businessman Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor and the countryʼs sports minister Mikhail Degtyarev.

Investigators obtained footage of a separate conversation between Szijjártó and Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin, during which he said he was doing everything possible to "cancel" a crucial package of EU sanctions targeting Russiaʼs shadow fleet.

The Hungarian minister also promised to facilitate the removal of Russian banks and oil companies from the sanctions list and asked for help in "finding arguments" for this.

In 2025, Szijjártó also told Sorokin that he was fighting against the entire 18th package of sanctions and trying to save as many Russian organizations as possible.

“I am doing everything possible to achieve its abolition. The fact is that I have already removed 72 organizations from the list, and there were 128. I am trying to continue, but I must say that this is in the interests of Hungary,” Szijjártó said.

It is unclear from the conversation which 72 and 128 Russian organizations the Hungarian minister was referring to.

"If they [Sorokinʼs staff] can help me identify the direct and negative consequences for Hungary, I would be very grateful. Because if I could show something like that, you would give me a completely different opportunity," Szijjártó said.

In addition, the recordings of the conversations show that Szijjártó regularly informed Lavrov about the details of confidential negotiations between European diplomats. During the same call to Lavrov on August 30, 2024, the Hungarian Foreign Minister revealed details of the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, in which he participated the day before.

“And it was crazy, you know, when Landsbergis said we provide 12% of every missile and shell,” Szijjártó told Lavrov, referring to then-Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, who claimed that Russia was partly financing its war with profits from selling gas and oil to European consumers such as Hungary and Slovakia.

"I said: friend, you are wrong, because the Europeans contribute much more... Not only the Slovaks and we buy gas and oil directly from Russia, but also all of you who buy it through India, Kazakhstan."

What preceded

The Washington Post published a story on March 21 that Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó regularly leaked to his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, what was being discussed at EU meetings, talking to him during breaks. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk actually confirmed this information, saying that the EU had long suspected this.

After that, according to Politico, the EU restricted the flow of confidential materials to Hungary and the leaders began meeting in smaller groups. At the time, the Hungarian government dismissed the allegations as fake news.

The pro-government Hungarian media outlet Mandiner reported on March 23 that the Hungarian Foreign Minister was being wiretapped by European intelligence services. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has ordered an investigation into this.

On March 23, the European Commission called on Hungary to clarify the issue, calling the reports “alarming”. Szijjártó echoed those words at a campaign event in the Hungarian city of Keszthely. He said that EU decisions on energy, the automotive industry and security directly affect Hungary’s relations with partners outside the bloc.

"Yes, 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 partners before and after the meetings of the Council of the European Union," Szijjártó said.

The minister also posted a video on Facebook on the morning of March 24, denying claims that he had violated any security protocols at EU Foreign Affairs Council meetings. He added that no secrets are discussed at the ministerial level.

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