An investigation is underway in Hungary into possible treason by former Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó
An official investigation has been launched in Hungary into possible links between former Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and the Russian Federation. This was announced by the country’s Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, during a press conference.
Responding to journalists’ questions about whether an investigation was underway into Szijjártó’s alleged contacts with Moscow, Magyar said: “As far as I understand, yes.” At the same time, he declined to disclose any details, noting that the case involved documents subject to restricted access.
Péter Szijjártó came under scrutiny following the publication earlier this year of audio recordings of his conversations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. According to the published material, Szijjártó briefed the Russian minister on meetings within the European Union and offered to help ease sanctions against Russia.
Following the release of these recordings, Péter Magyar stated that they could indicate possible treason on Szijjártó’s part and required a thorough investigation.
Péter Szijjártó himself stated that his exchanges with Sergey Lavrov were “routine diplomatic communication”. He had previously also acknowledged that he had been in regular contact with his Russian counterpart during closed-door European Union meetings.
The day before, Szijjártó resigned from his parliamentary seat to take up the post of global head of external relations at the Chinese company BYD.
Earlier, Péter Magyar had also claimed that Péter Szijjártó had allegedly destroyed documents relating to European Union sanctions against Russia.
According to Bloomberg, following his victory in the parliamentary elections, Péter Magyar announced his intention to steer Hungary back onto a pro-European course and make the country a constructive member of the European Union and NATO.
