The Czech President is calling for a review of relations with Hungary following the leak of Szijjártó's remarks

Czech President Petr Pavel has stated that the level of cooperation with Budapest needs to be reviewed following the release of audio recordings of conversations between Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. 

The Czech president made this statement in an interview with CT24.

The Czech leader emphasized that the transfer of confidential information by an EU member state to Moscow is unacceptable and poses a direct threat to the Czech Republic’s national security. Specifically, this involves restricting the exchange of classified data with the Hungarian side.

The scandal erupted on March 31, 2026, following the leak of recordings confirming that Budapest had passed details of closed-door discussions within the European Union to Russia. The published materials also document Szijjártó’s lobbying efforts to lift sanctions against Gulbahor Ismailova—the sister of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov.

According to Pavel, such actions by Hungary require an immediate response and a reassessment of partnership relations within European structures. The Czech Republic plans to thoroughly analyze the volume of information provided to Budapest to prevent further leaks of strategic data to the aggressor country. Currently, Prague views this incident as a serious challenge to European unity and the security of the entire region.

As a reminder, the publication VSquare obtained recordings of a conversation between Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and Sergey Lavrov. During the conversation, strategic information regarding critical EU issues was provided to Russia. 

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó reacted to the publication of recordings of his telephone conversations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, ironically calling it “yet another great revelation.”