Hungary’s foreign minister offered to send Russia EU document in leaked audio

• Leaked audio suggests Hungary's FM offered Russia a document related to Ukraine's EU accession, raising concerns about Budapest's ties with Moscow.
• The recordings, released by VSquare.org, detail friendly conversations and potential Hungarian efforts to serve Russian interests.
• The leaks surface before a critical election for PM Orban, amid scrutiny of Hungary's stance on Ukraine and EU sanctions against Russia.

BUDAPEST - Hungary’s foreign minister offered to send his Russian counterpart a document about Ukraine’s European Union accession, leaked recordings purported to show on April 8, in the latest indication of Budapest’s warm relations with Moscow.

The audio clips released by a consortium of investigative news outlets, including VSquare.org, were the latest in a series of leaked conversations that purport to show how Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government has worked to serve Russian interests and undermine EU efforts to aid Ukraine.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the audio, but Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has previously said wiretapping of his phone calls was a “huge scandal” and Mr Orban has ordered an investigation into it.

The release of the recordings comes days before an election in which Mr Orban, a nationalist often at odds with Brussels on a range of issues, faces the toughest challenge of his 16-year rule.

Independent polls show a pro-EU challenger heading to a victory on April 12 that could turn Budapest away from Moscow.

“I will send it to you. It’s not a problem,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto says in one conversation, after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Moscow is trying to get a document about the role of minority languages in Ukraine’s EU accession talks.

It was not clear what the document in question was and whether it was available in the public domain.

A Hungarian government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on April 8.

There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin.

Friendly conversations

VSquare, which is based in Warsaw, released audio of another call between Mr Szijjarto and Lavrov in March.

A VSquare representative told Reuters at the time that the outlet had independently verified audio recordings it obtained using sources in more than one country and with the help of external audio experts.

The conversations in the three audio clips released on April 8 have a friendly tone.

“All the best, my friend,” Mr Lavrov says at the end of a conversation about convening an intergovernmental economic commission in Budapest.

“Whenever you need anything, I’m at your disposal,” Mr Szijjarto says.

Other conversations detailed in written form concern preparations for a trip by Mr Orban to Moscow in 2024 when Hungary held the EU’s rotating presidency or blocking another raft of EU sanctions on Moscow in 2025 over its invasion of Ukraine.

In a third audio clip, Mr Szijjarto asks Mr Lavrov for details about what was discussed at a meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska in 2025.

Mr Szijjarto has travelled frequently to Moscow since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

On March 4, he met the Russian leader to discuss oil supplies, among other issues.

In response to criticism that he is undermining EU efforts to help Ukraine, Mr Orban says he aims to keep Hungary out of the war and protect its interests. REUTERS