Allied & Partner Intelligence — 2026-03-31
Leaked Audio Exposes Hungarian FM Coordinating EU Sanctions Relief With Russian Foreign Minister
Investigative journalists published a 94-second recording of a phone call between Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in which Szijjártó committed to working with Slovakia to remove the sister of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov from EU sanctions. The call, recorded August 30, 2024 by unknown parties, was released by the outlet Insider. Gulbahor Ismailova was subsequently removed from the EU sanctions list in March 2025. The recording adds to Washington Post reporting that Szijjártó disclosed sensitive information from EU Foreign Affairs Council meetings to Russian officials, raising counterintelligence concerns for NATO allies.
Analysis
The recording provides direct evidence of a NATO-member foreign minister acting as a conduit for Russian sanctions evasion at Lavrov's explicit request. Combined with prior Washington Post reporting of Szijjártó leaking EU Foreign Affairs Council deliberations to Moscow, this represents a counterintelligence failure at the alliance level. With Hungary's elections on April 12, the timing suggests an intelligence operation designed to influence the vote; the question is whose.
The recording provides direct evidence of a NATO-member foreign minister acting as a conduit for Russian sanctions evasion at Lavrov's explicit request. Combined with prior Washington Post reporting of Szijjártó leaking EU Foreign Affairs Council deliberations to Moscow, this represents a counterintelligence failure at the alliance level. With Hungary's elections on April 12, the timing suggests an intelligence operation designed to influence the vote; the question is whose.