The Foreign Minister emphasized that the leaked conversations should be the subject of an investigation
The head of the Foreign Ministry, Andriy Sibiga, described the “reporting” of his Hungarian counterpart, Peter Szijjártó, to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as “disgusting.”
As reported by RBC-Ukraine, Sibiga made this statement during a press conference.
Read also: Szijjártó lashed out at journalists after the leak of conversations with Lavrov: what he said
“You know, today I found time amidst all the events to listen to these conversations that became public in the media space. Well, for me, this is not a conversation. This is diligent reporting to Russian patrons. Disgusting, it is a shame. And it really should be the subject of an investigation,” the Ukrainian minister emphasized.
He noted that the profession of a diplomat requires caution in conversations, so, understanding the situation, Ukrainians “were even more diplomatic than ever” with the Hungarians.
“And what has now become evident poses a threat. In fact, it poses a threat to those discussion platforms that exist in the European Union, including closed ones,” Sibiga pointed out.
The Foreign Minister stated that Ukraine is often invited and briefs on the objective situation, so, he added, there should be an appropriate response to this manifestation.
What preceded it
On Tuesday, March 31, audio recordings of phone conversations between Szijjártó and Lavrov regarding the lifting of sanctions on influential Russians were leaked online.
In particular, Lavrov appealed to the Hungarian minister for help in excluding the sister of oligarch Alisher Usmanov, Gulbakhor Ismailova, from the sanctions lists. Szijjártó promised to help, and just seven months later, Ismailova was indeed removed from the list.
Recall that recently The Washington Post reported that Szijjártó regularly maintained contact with Lavrov during breaks in Brussels meetings.
Due to such close communication, the aggressor country effectively had a seat at the negotiating table at every EU meeting for many years.
Later, Szijjártó admitted that he regularly contacts Lavrov during closed meetings of the EU Council. At the same time, he claimed that no secrets are allegedly discussed at the ministerial level.
