The leader of the opposition in Hungary, Peter Magyar, the winner of Sunday’s elections and future prime minister, has made serious accusations against the Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártó, claiming that he is destroying documents related to the European Union’s sanctions against Russia, at a critical moment of political transition following Viktor Orban’s departure from power.
During his first press conference after the election results were announced, Magyar appeared visibly disturbed after receiving a message, later informing journalists that he had learned that the Hungarian Foreign Minister was in the ministry „destroying documents related to the sanctions” against Russia.
"Destroying documents, and that won't help him – but I'm telling you this to understand the context of the situation in Hungary," he stated, comparing the situation to attempts to erase traces from the communist era: "just like in the old communist regime."
Magyar warned that these revelations reflect the major challenges of the power transition after the Orban era, suggesting that the new government may face serious obstacles in accessing official documents.
He emphasized that normally, a sitting prime minister provides a national security briefing to his successor, but he does not expect this to happen in his case.
"There are many legal documents that neither the public nor even I know about, including regarding international obligations and external loans," said the future prime minister, as quoted by The Guardian. "We will need to get our hands on all the documents that have not been destroyed to understand the situation in detail."
Magyar also stated that his future government intends to make these documents public where possible and without violating confidentiality clauses, in order to bring more transparency to the activities of the former administration.
The accusations come amid controversies regarding the close relations between the Orban government and Russia.
Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó recently confirmed that he maintains regular contacts with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, including during EU meetings in Brussels.
According to international press reports, Szijjártó would have spoken with Lavrov during official meeting breaks, informing him about the topics discussed. The Hungarian minister acknowledged these conversations, justifying them as necessary for diplomatic dialogue.
The disclosures have raised concerns at the European level. The European Commission has requested clarifications from Budapest. Meanwhile, the EU has started to restrict the flow of confidential information to Hungary, and some leader discussions are taking place in restricted formats, amid suspicions that the Hungarian government may share sensitive information with Moscow.
Peter Magyar and his party decisively won Sunday's elections. Including votes cast in the diaspora, the party could ultimately have 141 or 142 out of the 199 seats in Parliament, which is a supermajority that will allow them to easily change any law, including the Constitution.