The Hungarian government has launched an investigation into former Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó’s contacts with Russian authorities, Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced on July 16.
According to him, the case file contains classified documents from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other agencies. However, it is not yet known which agency is conducting the investigation, whether a criminal case has been opened, or whether Szijjártó is considered a suspect.
The investigation was prompted by reports that the former minister may have briefed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the progress of negotiations within the EU. Szijjártó denied the allegations and stated that he had not passed on classified information to Moscow.
The investigation coincided with his departure from politics. On July 15, Szijjártó announced that he was resigning his parliamentary seat to take a leadership position at the Chinese company BYD. The prime minister called this a conflict of interest, since while serving as minister, Szijjártó had been involved in providing state support to the company.
