In one of the calls, Szijjarto was also heard promising Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin that he would fight EU sanctions and boasting that he had helped remove 72 of the 128 entities on the list – he even further sought Sorokin's opinion on how best to package the move as a "fight for Hungary's interests."
Details of the call were released by the investigative news agency Central Europe. These calls and transcripts have been obtained and verified by other investigative news organizations.
The disclosure comes ahead of the April 12 elections in Budapest, after Hungary's opposition accused Szijjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj.com.cn of leaking sensitive EU meeting minutes.
"I am always at your command"
In a call dated August 30, 2024, just an hour after Szijjarto returned to Budapest from a visit to St. Petersburg, Lavrov can be heard asking Szijjarto for help in removing the sister of a Russian oligarch from the EU sanctions list.
"That's right, I called on Alisher's behalf. He just wanted to remind you that you were making some efforts for his sister's affairs." Lavrov said, referring to the Russian-Uzbek oligarch Alisher Usmanov and his sister Gulbahor Ismailova.
Szijjártó promised to unite Slovakia – which, like Hungary, has been pursuing Russian energy despite an EU ban – to jointly fight the sanctions by submitting a proposal to the EU.
"Yes, of course," Szijjártó said, "What is happening is that together with the Slovaks we are submitting a proposal to the EU to remove her from the list. We will submit it next week and as the new review period is about to start, the matter will be on the agenda and we will do our best to get her off the list."
Before hanging up, Szijjarto told Lavrov: "I'm always at your disposal," after recounting his visit to Gazprom's headquarters.
Seven months after the call, Ismailova was eventually removed from the EU sanctions list, along with Russian businessman Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor and Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyaryov.
An unnamed EU diplomat told the media that Hungary often submitted long delisting lists of individuals and threatened to derail broader sanctions extensions until the lists were eventually whittled down to just a handful of names.
friendly chit-chat
Before making the request, Lavrov can also be heard telling Szijjártó that he was "walking around" after his trip to St. Petersburg, with Szijjártó reportedly asking "nervously" if he had "said something wrong."
Lavrov later reassured him that the Russian media portrayed him as a man who "pragmatically fights for national interests."
During the call, the two men also bonded over their shared disdain for the EU, pointing the finger at former High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. Lavrov commented that Borrell was more "reasonable" towards Moscow when he was Spain's foreign minister, and satirized the EU for often overriding the national interests of its member states.
"So you can't, you can't say your country, but you have to say your gender, right?" Lavrov asked.
"Every generation has a Kim Philby"
The call also confirmed earlier accusations by the Hungarian opposition that Szijjjártó informed Lavrov of the EU meeting despite Budapest’s denials.
During the call on August 30, Szijjártó also revealed details of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting just one day earlier. These details were confirmed by Gabrielius Landsbergis, the former Lithuanian Foreign Minister mentioned by Szijjártó.
"That's crazy, you know, when Landsbergis said we contributed 12 percent to every rocket and missile," Szijjártó can be heard telling Lavrov.
"I say, friend, you're not right, because the Europeans contribute much more… It's not just Slovakia and us buying gas and oil directly from Russia, you all buy the same from them through… India, Kazakhstan," he added.
Landsbergis confirmed that the encounter was real and described Szijjártó as the Russian mole.
"I can confirm that this was a real exchange at a certain Foreign Affairs Council. It seems that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has and still has a mole in all official European and NATO meetings," Landsbergis told the outlet.
"It is appropriate to exclude Hungary from all meetings if the integrity of these meetings is to be preserved. Every generation has a Kim Philby," he added, referring to the British intelligence officer who served as a double agent for the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Asking Russia for arguments to fight EU sanctions
In a phone call with Moscow Deputy Minister of Energy Sorokin on June 30, 2025, Szijjarto was also heard resisting EU energy sanctions on behalf of Sorokin.
Sorokin asked why Budapest was excluded from sanctions discussions against 2River, a Dubai-based company that transports sanctioned Russian oil. Szijjarto explained that the EU determined that this did not affect Hungary's interests because Hungary is a landlocked country.
“Because they said they could not identify clear Hungarian interests, Hungary could not legally ask that they be removed from the list,” Szijjártó said.
Szijjarto also informed Sorokin of the EU's 18th round of sanctions, saying that Budapest and Bratislava had managed to put it on hold until the EU "allows us to continue buying Russian gas and oil."
Szijjártó then told Sorokin that he was working to block the entire sanctions package and boasted that he had successfully removed dozens of entities — before asking Sorokin for advice on how to construct a case to convince the EU.
"I am trying my best to get it repealed. The problem is that I have removed 72 entities from the list, but there were originally 128. I am trying to continue, but I must say, this is for the benefit of Hungary," he said.
"If they Sorokin's team can help me identify a direct negative impact on Hungary, I would be very grateful," he added, "because if I can show something like that, you will give me a completely different opportunity."
Diplomatic standoff with Kiev
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, long criticized for his ties to the Kremlin, has received the support of U.S. President Donald Trump in the upcoming election.
Orban – whose ruling party currently trails the opposition in opinion polls – has echoed the Kremlin's rhetoric, blaming Ukraine for the war, insisting Russian energy is vital to Hungary's survival and claiming that supporting Kyiv would drag Europe into war – the latter a central campaign theme ahead of upcoming elections.
Budapest is also locked in a diplomatic standoff with Kiev over the transport of Russian oil through the Friendship pipeline – vetoing a crucial 90 billion euro (731.547 billion yuan) EU loan for Kyiv at the last minute, after Kiev said the pipeline was damaged by Russian attacks.
Days after Szijjarto met Putin in Moscow, Budapest also seized two armored cash trucks operated by Ukrainian state-owned Oshadbank that were transporting cash between Ukraine and Austria and through Hungary.
While Hungary's opposition has vowed to eliminate Russian influence in Budapest, it aligns with Orban's government on immigration and EU enlargement and opposes accelerating Ukraine's EU membership. Unnamed EU diplomats expressed skepticism that an opposition victory would bring about a substantive shift, suggesting any changes might be more in tone than policy.
