Hungarian FM says reports he passed information to Russia are ‘foreign interference’

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto on Tuesday denounced “foreign interference” in Hungary’s election campaign, after investigative media published telephone conversations suggesting he passed on information to Russia.

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Calling it a “very big scandal”, Szijjarto lambasted “the interception of his calls by foreign secret services, who made them public” a week and a half before the parliamentary elections “in the interest of Ukraine”, he wrote on Facebook.

A consortium of Eastern European media outlets – The Insider, VSquare and Delfi – claimed in an investigation published Tuesday that Szijjarto had provided Moscow with “direct-line” access to “strategic information on crucial issues”.

The investigation cited leaked recordings and transcripts of phone calls, in one of which Szijjarto is alleged to have told Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, “I am at your service.”

Commenting on the story, Ukraine’s foreign minister Andriy Sybiga said that “these are not conversations. This is obsequious reporting to Russian patrons. Disgusting, it is a disgrace, and it really should be subject to investigation.”

Hungary’s pro-Russian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban has repeatedly held up EU sanctions against Russia and blocked aid to the war-torn Ukraine, even trading barbs with Kyiv.

Read moreEU leaders fail to sway Hungary’s Orban on €90 billion Ukraine loan

The accusations against Szijjarto, a close ally of Orban, come ahead of the parliamentary elections on April 12 in which the nationalist leader faces his biggest ballot-box challenge in years.

Orban is vying to be re-elected for a fifth term despite accusations from the opposition of disloyalty towards European Union partners, as well as of allowing Kremlin interference.

Peter Magyar, who is the frontrunner to unseat Orban, suggested on Tuesday that Szijjarto should face life in jail “treason”.

“It is now obvious that Peter Szijjarto, Sergei Lavrov’s ‘errand boy’. defends neither Hungarian nor European interests, but instead reports directly to the Russian leadership via a secure line, passing on confidential information,” the opposition leader told a forum in Hungary.

“The Hungarian Criminal Code defines this as treason. And, incidentally, this crime is punishable by life imprisonment.”

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)