BRUSSELS: The European Union executive said on Monday reports that the Hungarian foreign minister had passed sensitive information about European Union negotiations to Russia were “greatly concerning”.
On Saturday, the Washington Post newspaper quoted serving or former European security officials as saying Peter Szijjarto regularly called his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, during breaks in EU meetings to give “direct reports on what was discussed” and suggest possible courses of action.
Szijjarto has described the report as “fake news” and “senseless conspiracy theories”. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is one of the few EU leaders to maintain close ties with Russia amid the war in Ukraine.
The US media outlet’s report has raised hackles in Brussels, where many officials remain furious that Hungary continued to block a loan of 90 billion euros (USD104 billion) to Ukraine at an EU leaders’ gathering last week.
On Monday, the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, demanded clarity from Budapest.
“(A) relationship of trust between member states, and between them and the institution, is fundamental for the work of the EU,” spokeswoman Anitta Hipper said.
“We expect the Hungarian government to provide the clarifications.”
Germany described the allegations as “very serious”.
“Discussions within the EU, including among EU foreign ministers, are confidential,” a German foreign ministry spokesman said.
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