Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that he had offered Ukraine a "Christmas ceasefire" and a prisoner exchange with Russia — he was refused.
This is how the Hungarian Prime Minister reacted to criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky regarding Orbanʼs call to Russian leader Vladimir Putin today — they talked about the war in Ukraine. Russian propagandists wrote that Putin, in a conversation with Orban, stated "the destructiveness of Kyivʼs line, which excludes the possibility of a settlement."
In response to this call, Zelensky stressed that talks about the war against Ukraine waged by Russia cannot take place without the participation of Kyiv.
"We hope that Viktor Orban will not even call [Bashar] Assad in Moscow. We should not play on our own image at the expense of unity — we should take care of common success. It is unity in Europe that always brings success," Zelensky wrote.
- In July 2024, Orbán traveled to Kyiv for talks with Zelensky. It was his first visit to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war. During the meeting, Orbán called the war a Russian invasion, but asked Zelensky for a ceasefire.
- On July 5, Orban arrived in Moscow and met with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. One of the key topics of the meeting was Russiaʼs war against Ukraine and its "peaceful settlement." Orban himself called his trip a "peace mission."
- Orban believes that Hungary can play an important role as a mediator. At the same time, he notes that Europe and the United States should abandon the course of war in order to have a decisive voice in resolving the conflict, and encourage Russia and Ukraine to negotiate with the participation of mediators. Orban also emphasizes the need for a ceasefire.
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