His remarks, alongside Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, came in response to an investigative report suggesting that Szijjarto consulted Russian officials on efforts to remove certain Russian nationals from the EU sanctions list.
According to the report, the Hungarian foreign minister also maintained regular contact with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, including during EU meetings.
'Deeply disturbing political dependence'
Tusk said the findings confirmed "a deeply disturbing political dependence" of Orban’s government on Moscow. He told reporters that transcripts and recordings cited in the report showed an “unacceptable and bizarre" relationship between Budapest and the Kremlin.
"What we have heard, and what we had already suspected, is merely a confirmation of the deeply disturbing political dependence of Viktor Orban's government and his foreign minister, Mr. Szijjarto, directly on the authorities in Moscow," Tusk said.
"It has been a long time, if ever, since I have heard something so disheartening. What these recordings have revealed is more than just the political dependency of the Budapest government on Moscow; it has exposed just how unacceptable and bizarre this relationship truly is," he added.
"A foreign minister of a European nation – a member of the European Union – reporting to the Russian foreign minister on the completion of a task and asking for patience because he knows he still has several more tasks to carry out? One could hardly imagine anything more repulsive. It is absolutely disqualifying."
Despite the criticism, Tusk stressed that longstanding people-to-people ties between Poles and Hungarians remained intact.
Hungary 'doing the bidding for Russia' within EU: Irish PM
Ireland's Martin joined in the criticism, saying: "I think it is a very sinister development. It confirms what many suspected – that the Hungarian government has been doing the bidding for Russia within the European Union for quite some time."
He added: "The deferential tone in the conversation was alarming, and it really is a very serious situation that within the European Union you have that type of behaviour, and it is very revealing of the relationship between the Hungarian government and the Russian government … It's unacceptable."
Tusk also criticised support expressed by Poland’s opposition Law and Justice (PiS) party and President Karol Nawrocki for Orban ahead of Hungary’s parliamentary elections.
Referring to recent comments by PiS leader Jarosław Kaczyński backing Orban’s ruling Fidesz party, Tusk said such support amounted to “political collaboration” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lavrov.
“If someone today wants the most pro-Russian government in Europe to win, this is no longer a matter of naivety or blindness, but a conscious and very dangerous game from the perspective of Poland’s interests and Europe’s security,” Tusk said.
Hungary is set to hold parliamentary elections on April 12. The opposition Tisza party has led Orban’s Fidesz in most independent polls, although surveys by government-linked pollsters show a narrower race.
(gs)
Source: IAR, PAP
Click on the audio player above for a report by Michał Owczarek.