Lithuania demands answers from Hungary over alleged Russia information leak

Lithuania has called on Hungary to provide explanations at the European Union Council after Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó allegedly shared confidential information with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys stressed that the matter would not go unaddressed, Caliber.Az reports, citing Lithuanian media.

“We are working with our permanent representation to raise this issue in the EU Council at both the procedural and political levels. I cannot afford to sit at the table and discuss matters affecting Lithuania’s vital interests with people who then pick up the phone and report everything to our adversaries,” he said.

Budrys noted that the EU currently lacks clear rules defining the responsibility of member states in cases involving the leakage of confidential information or cooperation with countries deemed to have hostile interests. Lithuania, he said, intends to take the initiative in advancing discussions on this issue at the EU level.

“When we see a state beginning to act in a completely opposite camp — starting to cooperate with a country that has interests hostile to ours, and in some cases transferring more sensitive information — questions arise about how we can function at all and what responsibility should follow such actions,” he added.

The Lithuanian minister also criticized the conduct of Hungarian officials, arguing that their actions appear closer to manipulation than conventional diplomatic practice.

By Vafa Guliyeva