Published December 15, 2024 at 1:11 p.m.
Foreign. Russia accepted a proposal from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for a ceasefire and prisoner exchange over Christmas in Ukraine. But then it was rejected by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj, Orban told Hungarian radio according to Nyhetsbanken.
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However, Orban believes that there is still time to consider his proposal for a truce over Christmas and a large prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine.
The Hungarian proposal aims to ensure that “no one dies on Christmas at least”, according to a model from World War I.
On Wednesday, a cocky Zelenskyj appeared, accusing Orban of only wanting to “boost his image at the expense of unity in the EU”.
Vladimir Putin's press chief Dmitry Peskov said at the same time that Russia “fully supports Orban's attempts to find a peaceful solution and arrange humanitarian issues related to the prisoner exchange”.
– Russia has never refused peace talks and has repeatedly declared its readiness to resume them on the basis of the Istanbul agreements from 2022, the Kremlin spokesman said.
During the 2022 Istanbul talks, Ukraine agreed to declare itself neutral, limit its armed forces and promise not to discriminate against ethnic Russians. Russia, in turn, would commit to providing security guarantees to Ukraine, along with a number of other countries.