Orbán says he's ready to discuss "Christmas truce" with Zelenskyy in Brussels

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has declared his permanent readiness to talk to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Brussels, where both are attending an EU summit.

Source: European Pravda, citing a Hungarian news outlet Telex.hu

Details: Orbán was asked whether he would present Zelenskyy with a plan for a Christmas truce between Kyiv and Moscow. The prime minister responded that the plan was already on the table and would either be accepted or rejected.

When asked if he would hold talks with the Ukrainian president on 19 December, he replied, "I work on standby and sleep on standby. I'm always ready for any meaningful discussion."

Background:

• Orbán said he would not respond to provocations, referring to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's criticism of the Hungarian prime minister's attempts at "mediation" and his statement that Orbán had no leverage over Moscow.
• Tensions between Kyiv and Budapest escalated after Viktor Orbán called Vladimir Putin last week.
• Afterwards, Orbán stated that he had proposed a ceasefire and a large-scale prisoner-of-war swap to Ukraine for Christmas but claimed that President Zelenskyy had rejected the idea.
• The Ukrainian president then expressed hope that Orbán "at least won’t call [Bashar al-] Assad in Moscow to listen to his hour-long lectures as well".
• Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó noted that Kyiv had refused to hold a phone conversation between Orbán and Zelenskyy regarding Hungary's "truce" proposal and was outraged that almost no one in the EU supported the "Christmas truce".

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