European Security — 2026-03-31

Leaked Audio Catches Hungary FM Coordinating EU Sanctions Removal with Lavrov

Investigative outlet The Insider published a 94-second recording from August 2024 in which Hungarian Foreign Minister Szijjarto told Russian FM Lavrov he was working with Slovakia to delist Gulbahor Ismailova, the sister of oligarch Alisher Usmanov, from EU sanctions. Seven months after the call, Ismailova was removed from the sanctions list. A separate report from Vsquare alleges Szijjarto told Russia's Deputy Energy Minister he was working to repeal EU sanctions on Russia's shadow oil tanker fleet. The leak compounds earlier Washington Post reporting that Szijjarto disclosed sensitive EU Foreign Affairs Council information to Moscow.

Analysis
The recording provides the first direct audio evidence of a sitting EU foreign minister coordinating sanctions policy with Moscow. Ismailova's delisting seven months later transforms this from an allegation into a documented outcome. With Hungary's April 12 parliamentary election approaching, the leak's timing maximizes political damage to Orbán's Fidesz. Read alongside the allied basing denials in the US-Iran War section, Europe is fracturing in two directions simultaneously: Western allies opposing US military operations on legal grounds while Hungary actively undermines EU sanctions architecture from within.

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