The Hungarian Foreign Minister called the Czech president a "communist spy"

Czech President Petr Pavel should remember that he could have ended his career as a spy for communist Czechoslovakia in the West if the regime had not collapsed. This was stated by Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in response to criticism from the Czech leader.

Szijjarto called the wiretapping of his conversations with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and its publication on the eve of the upcoming elections in Hungary a "huge scandal" and "blatant and unacceptable foreign interference" in the Hungarian parliamentary campaign, moreover, "in favor of Ukraine." He also rejected criticism of Petr Pavel, who had previously stated that the Czech Republic should reconsider relations with Hungary, including what information Prague would share with Budapest.

"The funniest thing is the reaction of the Czech president, who joined the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1985, trained as an intelligence officer and, if the regime had not collapsed, would have spied for him in Western Europe… Given his former zealous defense of communism and the Soviet ally, he might have to choose his words more carefully," he said.

At the same time, Szijjarto assured that Viktor Orban's government would protect Hungary and the country's sovereignty, and also "would not allow the state to be drawn into war."

Earlier, Western media published an audio recording made in August 2024, in which Sergei Lavrov allegedly informs Peter Szijjarto that he is calling at the request of Alisher Usmanov, and recalls that the Hungarian side promised to help with the issue of lifting sanctions from his sister Gulbahor Ismailova. The Hungarian minister was criticized for the conversation, in particular, by the head of European diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. At the same time, the details of the conversation were revealed on the eve of the parliamentary elections in Hungary, which will be held on April 12.