Szijjártó confirmed that he called Lavrov during closed-door EU meetings: That’s diplomacy
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó confirmed that he regularly communicates with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during closed-door meetings with the EU.
This was reported by Euronews, according to Censor.NET.
What is known?
According to him, EU decisions on energy, the automotive industry, and security directly affect Hungary’s relations with its partners outside the bloc.
"Yes, these issues must be discussed with our partners outside the European Union. I talk not only to the Russian Foreign Minister, but also to our American, Turkish, Israeli, Serbian and others before and after European Union Council meetings. What I say may sound harsh, but diplomacy is about talking to the leaders of other countries," Szijjártó said.
The minister also posted a video on social media Tuesday morning in which he denied allegations that he had violated any security protocols during meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council. He added that no classified matters are discussed at the ministerial level.
"Every minister brings their phone into the room except me. The suggestion that there are any security protocols falls into the category of stupidity," added the Hungarian foreign minister.
What preceded it?
- The Washington Post publication reported that Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó regularly called his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, during breaks in EU meetings.
- The source said that this was how Szijjártó provided the Russian official with "real-time updates on what was being discussed" and possible decisions; at the same time, thanks to this communication, Moscow had, for many years, "effectively been at the negotiating table" at every meeting of the bloc.
- Subsequently, Politico reported that the European Union was excluding Hungary from discussions on sensitive issues due to the risk of information leaks to Russia.
