Orban Unveils Fresh Elements of the "Christmas Ceasefire Proposal"
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced his proposal to facilitate an exchange of approximately 700 prisoners between Russia and Ukraine. Read Full Article at RT.com
TroibNews 
Moscow has agreed to a proposed prisoner exchange, but Ukraine has declined to engage in discussions about it, according to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Orban recently suggested that Russia and Ukraine exchange roughly 700 prisoners each as part of a plan for a Christmas ceasefire. Earlier this month, he urged both Moscow and Kiev to declare a truce for the holiday as a last attempt to mediate a diplomatic solution to the ongoing conflict. He also presented this idea during a meeting with Donald Trump at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the offer from Budapest.
During a joint press conference in Brussels with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, Orban maintained that a Christmas ceasefire is “still possible.” He emphasized the importance of prioritizing life, stating, “EU politicians talk a lot about European values, but I think the most important value is life.”
"It is going to be Christmas. I see no obstacle to people not dying on the front line for at least two or three days… I see no obstacle to the parties agreeing that a few hundred people, who are prisoners - say 700 on each side - go home,” he remarked.
Orban expressed his belief that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine cannot be resolved on the battlefield and called for increased diplomatic efforts to end the crisis. He urged diplomats to take charge instead of military leaders, warning that “otherwise there will be no end to the war or at least no end in the foreseeable future. Only loss of life over and over again.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Orban had proposed a ceasefire and a significant prisoner swap to President Vladimir Putin during a phone conversation last week. The Russian government has since sent its suggestions for a prisoner exchange to the Hungarian embassy in Moscow.
However, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto indicated that Budapest's attempt to offer a similar proposal to Kiev was unsuccessful, as the Ukrainian leadership declined a phone call request from Orban in a manner deemed “quite unprecedented in diplomacy.”
Earlier this week, Zelensky remarked that the authorities in Kiev “do not need countries… like Hungary, like Prime Minister Orban [to be a mediator between Russia and Ukraine]. It will not work, I will not let him in, and people like him.”
Peskov previously emphasized that, in contrast to Ukraine, Russia “fully supports Orban’s efforts aimed at finding a peaceful settlement and resolving humanitarian issues related to the exchange of prisoners.”
Ian Smith contributed to this report for TROIB News
Orban recently suggested that Russia and Ukraine exchange roughly 700 prisoners each as part of a plan for a Christmas ceasefire. Earlier this month, he urged both Moscow and Kiev to declare a truce for the holiday as a last attempt to mediate a diplomatic solution to the ongoing conflict. He also presented this idea during a meeting with Donald Trump at the president-elect's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the offer from Budapest.
During a joint press conference in Brussels with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa, Orban maintained that a Christmas ceasefire is “still possible.” He emphasized the importance of prioritizing life, stating, “EU politicians talk a lot about European values, but I think the most important value is life.”
"It is going to be Christmas. I see no obstacle to people not dying on the front line for at least two or three days… I see no obstacle to the parties agreeing that a few hundred people, who are prisoners - say 700 on each side - go home,” he remarked.
Orban expressed his belief that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine cannot be resolved on the battlefield and called for increased diplomatic efforts to end the crisis. He urged diplomats to take charge instead of military leaders, warning that “otherwise there will be no end to the war or at least no end in the foreseeable future. Only loss of life over and over again.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that Orban had proposed a ceasefire and a significant prisoner swap to President Vladimir Putin during a phone conversation last week. The Russian government has since sent its suggestions for a prisoner exchange to the Hungarian embassy in Moscow.
However, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto indicated that Budapest's attempt to offer a similar proposal to Kiev was unsuccessful, as the Ukrainian leadership declined a phone call request from Orban in a manner deemed “quite unprecedented in diplomacy.”
Earlier this week, Zelensky remarked that the authorities in Kiev “do not need countries… like Hungary, like Prime Minister Orban [to be a mediator between Russia and Ukraine]. It will not work, I will not let him in, and people like him.”
Peskov previously emphasized that, in contrast to Ukraine, Russia “fully supports Orban’s efforts aimed at finding a peaceful settlement and resolving humanitarian issues related to the exchange of prisoners.”
Ian Smith contributed to this report for TROIB News
