But Szijjártó, who has been foreign minister in Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government since 2014, dismissed the accusations – and claimed his phone was being tapped.
He explained that he has regularly cooperated with several foreign ministers from non-EU countries “on issues related to sanctions.”
“Good job! They confirmed that I speak in public as I speak on the phone,” he added about investigative journalists, saying that it has been “known for a long time” that foreign intelligence agencies intercept his calls.
“For four years we have been saying that the sanctions policy is a failure, causing more harm to the EU than to Russia,” Szijjártó said, adding that “Hungary will never agree to impose sanctions on individuals or companies that are important for our energy security or for achieving peace.”
Hungary’s international spokesman Zoltán Kóvacs told POLITICO on Monday that the foreign minister’s contacts with Russia’s Lavrov were normal diplomatic practice, and that they did not exchange sensitive information.
“They are not talking about those aspects, of course, which are not Russian; they are talking about public policy issues that are in the European Union,” Kovács said. Whether EU leaders “like it or not, he … is trying to be an intermediary between Europe and Russia … to explain why decisions are made,” he added.
