EU says it urged Hungary's Szijjártó not to disclose confidential discussions

In response to the publication of new audio recordings of conversations between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó – which discuss details of discussions at EU Council meetings – the European Commission has reminded that Szijjártó had already been warned about the inadmissibility of disclosing such information.

As reported by a European Pravda journalist in Brussels, the Commission said Szijjártó had previously been warned about the need to maintain the confidentiality of discussions held during EU Council meetings.

"And then on the previous discussion that we had on the principle of sincere cooperation, the High Representative [of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas] has spoken earlier this week with the Foreign Minister [of Hungary, Péter Szijjártó], also reiterating once more the importance of confidentiality of closed-doors discussions," European Commission foreign affairs spokesperson Anitta Hipper said.

She added that Kallas had also made it clear to Szijjártó that "the Council's internal deliberations must not be disclosed to third parties".

On 31 March media outlets posted leaked audio recordings of a conversation between Lavrov and Szijjártó, shedding light on their contact amid a scandal over the possible transfer by Budapest to Moscow of details from confidential EU discussions.

Among the recordings was one concerning Szijjártó's lobbying to lift EU sanctions against Gulbahor Ismailova, the sister of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov.

Following this, Szijjártó once again criticised the European Union's sanctions policy against Russia.