Zelenskyʼs team reacted to Orbanʼs statements about the alleged proposed truce for Christmas

Author:
Oleksandra Opanasenko
Date:

Hungary did not discuss the "Christmas ceasefire" and prisoner exchange plan allegedly proposed by Viktor Orbán with Ukraine.

This was reported by the adviser to the President of Ukraine on communications Dmytro Lytvyn.

"As always, Hungary did not discuss anything with Ukraine. As usual, Hungary did not inform us about its contacts with Moscow. As usual, Ukraine did not authorize Hungary to represent it in any way," Lytvyn said.

Lytvyn stressed that negotiations on a large-scale prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia, which they want to hold by the end of this year, have been going on for two weeks. He also added that Ukraine is committed to a full-fledged peace and is working with partners to achieve this.

"As before, we need real peace, not PR campaigns, and reliable security guarantees, not empty talk," Lytvyn said.

What preceded

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called Russian leader Vladimir Putin on December 11 to discuss the war in Ukraine. In a conversation with Orban, Putin stated that “Kyiv’s line is destructive, which rules out the possibility of a settlement,” Russian propagandists wrote.

In response to this call, Zelensky emphasized 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.

After that, Orban, responding to Zelenskyʼs post, said that he allegedly offered Ukraine a "Christmas ceasefire" and a prisoner exchange with Russia, but Zelensky refused.

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