France calls Hungary's leaked call with Russia 'betrayal of solidarity'
France accused Hungary of betraying European solidarity after a leaked phone call showed Hungary's foreign minister offering to share EU documents about Ukraine with Russia. The call reportedly involved Hungary's Péter Szijjártó and Russia's foreign minister discussing EU sanctions and Ukraine's bid to join the EU.
France's foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot condemned Hungary after leaked audio revealed Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó appeared to offer sharing EU documents about Ukrainian membership with Russia.
The leaked recording purportedly captures a phone call between Szijjártó and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. In the call, they discussed removing EU sanctions and Ukraine's application to join the European Union.
This isn't the first time Hungary has been accused of sharing EU secrets with Russia. The Washington Post previously reported that Szijjártó disclosed sensitive information from closed-door EU meetings in Brussels to Moscow.
The controversy has led other EU countries to cut Hungary out of some sensitive discussions over fears of further leaks to Russia. EU diplomats say they're worried about sharing confidential information when Hungary might pass it along to Moscow.
Hungary has maintained closer ties with Russia than most EU members, even as the bloc imposed sanctions over the war in Ukraine.
This threatens European unity against Russia's war in Ukraine. When EU members secretly share sensitive information with Russia, it weakens sanctions and could help Moscow undermine support for Ukraine.
Watch for more EU countries to exclude Hungary from sensitive meetings and potential formal sanctions against Hungary.
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