The Wiretapped and Leaked Lavrov Conversations: Szijjártó and Orbán Failed to Grasp That Europe Is Not a Game

Where is Péter Szijjártó? While, a day after the Tisza Party’s sweeping victory, the international press was abuzz with the fall of Viktor Orbán’s regime, the Hungarian media was more concerned with why the foreign minister one of the faces of Fidesz’s campaign was absent from the stage set up at the Bálna alongside János Lázár and Viktor Orbán. Moreover, Szijjártó remained invisible even on Monday; typically active on social media, he merely changed his profile cover photo to a Hungarian flag.

On Monday afternoon, as Péter Magyar held an international press conference, the incoming prime minister announced that, according to his information, Szijjártó was shredding documents related to sanctions against Russia together with his colleagues at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is unclear how much of this is true, but one thing is certain: many now view Szijjártó as a puppet of the Russians, and even within Fidesz his reputation has suffered due to his excessive closeness to Moscow.

The Recordings Were Used as a Weapon Against Orbán’s Foreign Minister

Péter Szijjártó likely was not intended by Viktor Orbán to play the role he ultimately did in the campaign. In the final stretch, he suffered the heaviest blows when recordings of his phone conversations with Sergey Lavrov were leaked.

The recordings revealed two key things. First, they exposed a markedly asymmetrical relationship between the Hungarian foreign minister and his Russian counterpart. While Szijjártó effectively regards EU leadership as adversaries, he sees the Russian leadership as political allies. This alone is embarrassing, especially given that Russia initiated the war in Ukraine, and the Szijjártó Lavrov relationship cannot be justified merely as pragmatic diplomacy.

Second, it became evident that Szijjártó had been wiretapped using intelligence tools by one or more foreign intelligence services, and that the recorded conversations were later weaponized against him.

Although Szijjártó defended himself by claiming he said nothing he would not openly stand by, this only exposed him further: it became clear that he sought to please Lavrov, align with him, and effectively act in coordination with Moscow. This was a severe blow, even if he had never denied his friendly relations with Lavrov.

They Had Been Warned in Advance

The leaks made it abundantly clear that the Orbán government’s Russia policy had crossed a line for one or more EU member states, prompting intelligence operations aimed at undermining it.

The conversations had been recorded years earlier, but their release was a political decision one typically made only after behind the scenes warnings have failed.

Indeed, the escalation of the situation stemmed largely from the Orbán government’s misjudgment. Some government figures argued in background briefings that Orbán believed he could rely on support from the U.S. president and therefore did not need to align with European leaders.

Yet serious warnings preceded the leaks. On March 16, Szijjártó himself revealed that he had been threatened during a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels. Even then, however, he used the incident for domestic political purposes, portraying himself as defending national interests.

“I have been attending these meetings for 11 and a half years, and I have never experienced anything like this: a very harsh, open, shameless threat from the Germans. They made it clear that there would be very serious consequences if we did not abandon representing national interests regarding Ukraine,” he said afterward.

It remains unclear whether Germany was involved in the leaks, but Szijjártó evidently failed to grasp the potential consequences of aligning so closely with Russia while European leaders were fully aware of it.

The warning came after Orbán blocked an EU loan intended for Ukraine a loan previously approved and one that would not have cost Hungary anything. He justified the move by accusing Ukraine of deliberately failing to repair the Druzhba oil pipeline damaged in the war, thereby disrupting Russian oil supplies to Hungary.

From the perspective of European politicians, it matters little whether Orbán’s obstruction was driven by campaign strategy or genuine alignment with Russian interests the outcome was the same.

For years, Orbán enjoyed using foreign policy for domestic gain and relished becoming an international brand among populist politicians. But beyond politics, he either failed to assess the national security risks or believed time was on his side and that he could reshape the EU. He was also mistaken in thinking that his relationship with Donald Trump would shield him from European pressure.

There May Have Been More Material in Reserve

The leak of the Szijjártó conversations also suggested that, had Fidesz remained in power, European diplomacy would have taken even harsher measures against the Orbán government. Anonymous diplomats hinted at this in statements to Politico around the time the recordings surfaced.

This pattern also includes the publication of transcripts of conversations between Orbán and Vladimir Putin, as well as statements by Andrzej Derlatka, former head of Polish intelligence, who bluntly described Orbán and Szijjártó as Russian agents.

“I am watching what is happening in Hungary, and I am shocked. Orbán not only extracted information from the European Union but also from NATO. Meanwhile, Donald Trump acts as if he doesn’t notice,” Derlatka said, adding that he had worked at NATO headquarters and understood how seriously security is taken there.

While the leaking of such recordings is indeed serious, as both Orbán and Szijjártó stated, the gravity lies not only in the illegal recording but in the decision to make them public an act typically reserved as a last resort. It is highly likely that these conversations were only the tip of the iceberg, and that more damaging intelligence materials existed, ready to be deployed if necessary.

This suggests one thing: Hungary had become isolated. European powers began to view the Orbán government closely aligned with Russian foreign policy as a potential threat that needed to be contained at all costs.

This is unprecedented and demonstrates how profoundly the Hungarian leadership misjudged the consequences of acting as intermediaries for Moscow.

A Message Beyond Hungary

In this context, the events were not only a warning to Orbán and Szijjártó but also to others, including French far-right politician Marine Le Pen who received financing linked to Orbán and certain figures within Germany’s AfD.

The move also sends a signal to Serbia, which is seeking EU membership. Brussels has the financial tools to exert pressure, just as it has done with Hungary, with the same goal: reducing Russian influence and preventing any state from acting as an obstruction within the Union.

Unlike Orbán, however, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić acted more cautiously in a recent incident involving explosives found near the TurkStream pipeline. During the final week of the campaign, Serbian authorities discovered a bomb near Oromhegyes, not far from the pipeline. The Hungarian government suggested Ukrainian involvement, claiming they had an interest in damaging infrastructure.

However, the bomb was likely part of a false-flag operation intended to amplify Fidesz’s anti Ukrainian campaign narrative. Evidence suggests the plan had leaked weeks earlier, yet the government still used the incident for political purposes.

Vučić surprised many by refusing to engage. While he expressed support for Orbán’s victory, he made clear he would not comment further until after the election. Serbian authorities later indicated that the Ukrainian connection was disinformation.

All of this underscores a broader reality: Europe is moving decisively to counter Russian influence and those perceived as facilitating it.