Asked on France Inter whether the leaks had prompted Barrot to withhold certain pieces of information during meetings of European foreign ministers, the French minister responded that they had indeed “cast doubt on the integrity of our deliberations.”
“We must remain united,” Barrot added.
Last month, the European Commission called the leaks “greatly concerning.” Though there has not been a formal European response, the EU has limited the flow of confidential material to Hungary and leaders have been meeting in smaller groups as a consequence.
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 drawn up by the Russian government that were obtained by POLITICO and published this week.
Szijjártó has dismissed the revelations as foreign interference with just a few days remaining before Hungary’s parliamentary election on Sunday. Orbán is facing a tough battle against challenger Péter Magyar, whose Tisza party is well ahead in most polls.