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Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said Budapest went against the "solidarity required between members of the European Union."
Hungary's talks with Russian officials about sanctions were "a betrayal of the solidarity required between members of the European Union," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in an interview on Thursday.
Late last month, Hungary's top diplomat, Péter Szijjártó, admitted that he had spoken with Russian officials "on issues related to sanctions" as the EU was considering new economic measures targeting Moscow.
Szijjártó's admission came after he was heard in audio recordings released by a consortium including VSquare and TheInsider holding friendly talks with senior officials, including Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin.
Asked on France Inter whether the leaks had led Barrot to keep some information secret during meetings of European foreign ministers, the French minister replied that they had indeed "cast doubts on the integrity of our discussions."
"We must remain united," Barrot added.
Last month, the European Commission called the leaks “deeply concerning.” Although there has been no official European response, the EU has restricted the flow of confidential material to Hungary and as a result, leaders have met in smaller groups.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has long been one of Europe’s most pro-Russian leaders. Budapest and Moscow signed an agreement in December to expand the two countries’ economic, trade, energy and cultural ties, according to documents drafted by the Russian government that were obtained by Politico and published this week.
Szijjártó has dismissed the revelations as foreign interference, just days before Hungary's parliamentary elections on Sunday. Orbán faces a tough battle against challenger Péter Magyar, whose Tisza party is far ahead in most polls.
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