Szijjártó will be absent from next week’s EU Foreign Affairs Council after the Orbán administration’s electoral defeat. He is under investigation for allegedly sharing classified data with Russia and destroying confidential documents.
The outgoing Hungarian foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, will not attend next week’s foreign policy meeting in Luxembourg, EU diplomats revealed to Euronews, following the loss suffered by Viktor Orbán’s administration. His office has not provided any comment.
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Diplomats confirmed yesterday that Viktor Orbán, the outgoing prime minister, also plans to miss next week’s informal European Summit in Cyprus.
During the campaign, Szijjártó found himself embroiled in controversy due to his close relationship with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Audio leaks suggested he had offered assistance in removing Russian businesspeople from EU sanctions lists and had contacted Russian officials amid a critical European summit in 2023, when discussions about Ukraine’s accession talks were underway.
Since Sunday’s elections, which ended in a decisive result for Tisza, Szijjártó has largely vanished from public appearances, including social media platforms where he was previously very active.
On Monday, Hungary’s prime minister-elect, Péter Magyar, accused Szijjártó of shredding sensitive documents related to Russia sanctions at the foreign ministry.
Magyar and his foreign affairs advisor, Anita Orbán, called on ministry employees to preserve all relevant documentation. However, the ministry denied these accusations on Wednesday, stating that only paper versions of electronic files were destroyed, and no data was lost.
Szijjártó under scrutiny for secret communications with Moscow
Péter Szijjártó’s connections with Moscow became a focal point during the campaign after leaked transcripts and recorded calls came to light.
In March, The Washington Post reported that Szijjártó contacted Russian officials during breaks at EU meetings in Brussels. He contested the timing, asserting that the calls occurred outside of meeting intervals, and denied any rules violations, describing the interactions as diplomatic communication. Russia remains the most sanctioned country under EU legislation.
Later that month, investigative journalists released a recording of a conversation between Szijjártó and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in which the Hungarian minister agreed to assist in lifting EU sanctions on a Russian businessman’s sister, following Lavrov’s request.
In April, prior to the general election, another leak indicated that Szijjártó briefed Lavrov during a break at a significant EU summit in Brussels in December 2023, where leaders were discussing launching Ukraine’s accession negotiations. The recording revealed Lavrov encouraging Szijjártó to use the opportunity to influence the EU.
Szijjártó dismissed these leaks as foreign intelligence operations aimed at undermining then Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government ahead of the election.