Taoiseach and Polish prime minister blast Hungary’s ‘sinister’ contacts with Russia

Taoiseach Micheal Martin speaking to reporters outside Government Buildings in Dublin. Picture: Bairbre Holmes/PA Wire

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has joined Poland's prime minister Donald Tusk in blasting Hungary’s foreign minister’s "repulsive", "sinister" and "unacceptable" backchannel talks with Russia.

Earlier today, a group of five European media outlets published what they said was a phone call between Szijjártó and the Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, which discussed plans to amend the EU’s sanctions list to Moscow’s liking.

The investigation also alleged additional contacts between the minister and Russian officials.

Mr Tusk and Mr Martin said the tone of the recorded conversation showed an “unacceptable” and “deferential” tone from the EU country’s minister, with the Taoiseach saying it “confirmed what many suspected” about Hungary “doing the bidding for Russia” within the bloc.

In unusually strong comments, Mr Tusk said: “What we have heard, and what we had already suspected, is merely a confirmation of the deeply disturbing political dependence of Viktor Orbán’s government and his foreign minister, Mr Szijjártó, directly on the authorities in Moscow.

It has been a long time, if ever, since I have heard something so disheartening. What these recordings have revealed is more than just the political dependency of the Budapest government on Moscow; it has exposed just how unacceptable and bizarre this relationship truly is.

"A foreign minister of a European nation – a member of the European Union – reporting to the Russian foreign minister on the completion of a task and asking for patience because he knows he still has several more tasks to carry out? One could hardly imagine anything more repulsive. It is absolutely disqualifying. … Poland loves Hungary, and Poles love the Hungarian people; ours is a friendship that has endured for decades and centuries. That is why it is so important to me that everyone in Hungary hears this: nothing has changed on our end. We are glad to be part of the European community alongside the Hungarian people.

"The tragedy is that Viktor Orbán’s government – certainly Orbán himself and minister Szijjártó – effectively left the European Union a long time ago.”

MR Martin echoed the criticism, adding:

“I think it is a very sinister development.

"It confirms what many suspected that the Hungarian government has been doing the bidding for Russia within the European Union for quite some time.

"The deferential tone in the conversation was alarming, and it really is a very serious situation that within the European Union you have that type of behaviour and it is very revealing of the relationship between the Hungarian government and the Russian government. … It’s unacceptable.”