President Petr Pavel told Czech Television yesterday that the Czech Republic should reassess its relations with Hungary, including what information it will share with this country, in response to the publication of the contents of phone calls between Hungarian and Russian ministers.
In response, Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motorists) told CTK that Czech foreign policy is determined by the government, not the president, and that the views of the president are therefore irrelevant.
“I find it completely unacceptable for an EU and NATO member state to circumvent the rules in this way and share sensitive or even classified information with our adversary,” Pavel told CTV.
He said Hungary is undermining collective security. “In practical terms, at least from my perspective, this should mean cutting off all ties with (Foreign Minister) Peter Szijjarto, because he is completely untrustworthy. And (Prime Minister) Viktor Orban certainly knew about it. I think that things like this simply cannot be ignored,” said Pavel, answering a question about how the Czech Republic should respond.
A week ago, The Washington Post reported that Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto regularly updated Russia by phone during breaks in the negotiations at meetings of European Union member states. Szijjarto later confirmed that he is in regular contact with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov regarding developments in EU negotiations, arguing that communication with partners is the essence of diplomacy.
According to CTV reports, investigative journalists from The Insider, VSquare and other media outlets released a recording yesterday that allegedly captures the Hungarian minister discussing European sanctions with his Russian counterpart. Szijjarto is recorded saying he would do everything in his power to block the package of EU sanctions. In another conversation, he apparently promised that, together with Slovakia, he would push to have the name of the sister of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov removed from the EU sanctions list.
A general election will be held in Hungary on 12 April. Szijjarto is a member of Victor Orban’s Fidesz party, which is facing an unusually strong challenge from a centre-right party led by a former Fidesz member.
