"Fake news" – Szijjártó on Tuesday about the very thing he said was the essence of diplomacy just the day before

Péter Szijjártó’s statements on whether he informed Russia about what was discussed at EU meetings have taken yet another turn. “This is another lie; why do you still believe fake news?” he wrote in response to Donald Tusk’s post on X. "Orban’s Foreign Minister has confirmed that he systematically informed Moscow what EU leaders talked about behind closed doors."- the Polish Prime Minister wrote on Tuesday, after Péter Szijjártó admitted – in response to a question from our reporter – on Monday that he considers it the essence of foreign policy and diplomacy to consult with those “with whom it is important to coordinate from Hungary’s point of view” about decisions that have been made or which are to be made in the EU Council of Foreign Ministers.

When we asked him whether Sergey Lavrov is among those he usually coordinates with, he replied that Russia is an important partner for Hungary, for example in terms of energy supply.

“I consult with all our important partners who are affected by the decisions made there,” he said. “I don’t know what’s so special about that; it’s the essence of foreign policy and diplomacy,” he added. Just one day before, on Sunday, he had accused the Polish Prime Minister of spreading “lies and fake news” when the latter posted that the news that “Viktor Orbán’s people are passing information to Russia about European Council meetings” came as no surprise to anyone.

We sent questions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade to clarify Péter Szijjártó’s position. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Máté Paczolay responded to our inquiry by explaining that Szijjártó called Donald Tusk’s post a lie and fake news because “the reality is that when decisions are made at European Council meetings that affect Hungary’s ability to cooperate with non-EU countries – whether in the areas of energy, the economy, or political cooperation, then he consults with these countries after the meetings, as the decisions may have an impact on our cooperation.” According to Paczolay, Szijjártó consults with the Americans, the Turks, the Serbs, the Russians, the Chinese, as well as Africans and Southeast Asians as well, “in order to establish and maintain cooperation that best serves Hungary’s interests, even with countries that are important partners for Hungary but are not members of the European Union.” As he said, “this is the task of diplomacy”.