“That’s when they grabbed all the material they had, edited it, circulated it and published it as a sort of kompromat,” Panyi said, referring to the Russian word for material endangerment.
Szijjártó has agreed speaking to their Russian counterparts before and after EU meetings, following reports by Washington Post that he gave the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov a report on what was discussed, and possible solutions proposed, during the EU meetings.
On Thursday, Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Gergely Gulyás he announced that the government had filed a criminal complaint against Panyi, accusing him of espionage and conspiring with Ukraine’s intelligence services. The complaint alleges he shared sensitive information about Szijjártó but does not provide specifics or evidence. Prosecutors must now decide whether or not to open an investigation.
Orbán and Szijjártó have maintained close ties with the Kremlin — including making numerous trips to meet high-level officials in Moscow — even after the EU isolated Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That has fueled ongoing tensions between Budapest and Kyiv, which continues to oppose Russian aggression.
‘betrayed’
Panyi said it had been an “open secret” among European security services that communications between Szijjártó and Lavrov were occurring regularly. He said the communications were monitored by many intelligence agencies, but no action was taken by the European Union governments.
“I feel betrayed. I have always felt betrayed by the EU … the way they let Orbán build his little Russia,” he said. But this time “they had evidence that something almost criminal was going on and they didn’t take action. As a Hungarian journalist and citizen, my mission was to make it public.” The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
