Orbán furious over reports of Hungarian and Russian FMs 'wiretapping'
Photo: Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (Getty Images)
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was outraged by the revelation of the controversial conversations involving Szijjártó and compared it to an attack on the country.
"The wiretapping of a member of the government is an attack on Hungary. I have instructed the Minister of Justice to immediately launch an investigation into the reports of wiretapping involving (Hungarian Foreign Minister – ed.) Péter Szijjártó," Orbán wrote.
Background
The Washington Post recently reported that Szijjártó had briefed the Russian side on negotiations with the EU. However, the American agency’s article did not mention that the Minister might have been wiretapped.
These details emerged in the pro-government Hungarian media outlet Mandiner, which revealed an audio recording in which investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi speaks with a woman who likely works at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Mandiner claims that Panyi allegedly passed Szijjártó’s phone number to the foreign intelligence service of one of the EU countries so that it could monitor the Minister. The journalist himself explained that the conversation was with his source, who was trying to verify information about Szijjártó revealed in the Washington Post.
According to Panyi, the wiretapping may have occurred not because the number was passed on, but because the Minister was communicating with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, over an unsecured line.
Scandals over Hungary
Several international scandals have recently erupted around the Hungarian government.
Russian intelligence planned to stage an assassination attempt on Viktor Orbán. According to journalists, this provocation was intended to influence the outcome of the country’s elections.
Earlier reports emerged of the harsh treatment of detained Ukrainians by Hungarian law enforcement officials. Media outlets reported that the so-called truth serum injections were administered to Ukrainian Oschadbank employees in an attempt to force them to confess.
