The Kremlin’s Trojan Horse
Yevhen Mahda, Executive Director of the "Institute of World Policy"
The scandalous behavior of Hungary’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, suggests that once the parliamentary campaign ends, he may have to look for a new job. This diplomat has proved to be far too pro-Russian.
Hungary’s parliamentary elections took place under the sign of a fierce confrontation between the government and the opposition. Viktor Orbán, the long-serving prime minister and leader of Fidesz, is striving to block his former party colleague, Péter Magyar—now the head of the TISZA Party—from seizing power. The political struggle is unfolding with the use of passive sparring partners in the form of Ursula von der Leyen and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose images are intended to help demonize Péter Magyar.
Hungary’s foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, has skillfully and persistently advanced Orbán’s policy on the international stage, earning, among other things, the Russian Order of Friendship in 2021. However, two information leaks in the spring of 2026 forced European officials to abandon their demonstrative calm. As media representatives revealed, Hungary’s top diplomat not only informed his Russian counterpart about the course of discussions within the EU’s governing bodies, but also coordinated actions aimed at undermining Ukraine’s European integration. In other words, he was sabotaging European unity from within.
A particularly revealing detail emerged when it became known that, at the request of Sergey Lavrov, Szijjártó lobbied for the lifting of EU sanctions against the sister of Kremlin-linked oligarch Alisher Usmanov. It appears that this is merely the “cherry on top,” where “heartfelt gratitude” could be expected in a private capacity. But when what is at stake is the torpedoing of new EU sanctions packages against Russia—a master class in which Hungary and Slovakia have repeatedly excelled—the issue takes on not only a financial but also a geopolitical dimension. One might reasonably ask how Russian metallurgical companies in 2024–2025 managed to earn $2 billion annually from exports to the EU, and why Rosatom, a major contributor to the Russian federal budget, continues to avoid sanctions altogether.
Hungary’s foreign minister has effectively become the Kremlin’s Trojan horse, exploiting European principles with particular cynicism (and likely for personal gain). Perhaps in this way Péter Szijjártó was raising funds for Viktor Orbán and his election campaign, though we will only know this for certain after April 12. However, one prediction can be made with near certainty: Hungary’s foreign ministry will soon be headed by another diplomat.
Farewell, Szijjártó!
