Leaked phone recordings reveal that Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto held conversations with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and other senior Russian officials, showing that Budapest worked to advance Kremlin interests in the European Union.

In recorded conversations from August 2024, Lavrov asked Szijjarto to help remove oligarch Alisher Usmanov's sister from EU sanctions lists. Szijjarto agreed to work with Slovakia to submit a proposal for her removal, saying "we will do everything to remove her." Seven months later, she was taken off the list.

In conversations with Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin, Szijjarto disclosed confidential EU details, admitted to blocking sanctions packages and asked Russia for arguments against sanctions. He claimed to have removed 72 Russian entities from proposed lists and successfully had Bank Saint Petersburg taken off.

A European intelligence official described such communications as an "operative-source" dynamic. Hungary and Slovakia have repeatedly used their veto power on sanctions. The Hungarian government dismissed the reports as "pro-Ukrainian propaganda."