Trump's Team Evaluates Orban’s "ceasefire initiative"
The president-elect of the United States will evaluate any proposals designed to halt the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, according to his national security nominee. Read Full Article at RT.com
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Kiev has already dismissed the proposal in an “unprecedented” manner, according to Budapest.
US President-elect Donald Trump is currently evaluating a proposal for a Christmas truce and a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine, as mentioned by Mike Waltz, Trump's nominee for national security adviser.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Trump and Waltz at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, just two days prior to his phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Following that call, the Kremlin reported that Orban had suggested a Christmas Day ceasefire along with a large-scale prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kiev. In response, the Russian government forwarded its ideas for the POW exchange to the Hungarian embassy in Moscow.
In a Sunday interview with CBS News, Waltz refrained from confirming if Orban had transmitted any messages from Trump to Putin. However, he emphasized that the incoming administration aims to “stop the fighting” and hinted that if there is “some type of ceasefire as a first step…we'll take a hard look at what that means.”
Waltz remarked, “Orban has regular engagement with the Russians, and he clearly has a good relationship with President Trump, and I would hope the entire world would want to see some type of cessation to the slaughter,” referring to the Donbass battlefield as “a meat grinder of human beings.”
In a social media update on Wednesday, Orban stated that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky had “clearly rejected” his ceasefire proposal. Zelensky, on his part, criticized Orban’s diplomatic efforts, suggesting that the Hungarian leader was merely trying to “boost personal image at the expense of unity” within the EU regarding support for Kiev.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto later disclosed that the Ukrainian authorities had declined a request from Orban for a phone call, doing so in a manner described as “quite unprecedented in diplomacy.” In an interview on Sunday with public broadcaster Kossuth Radio, Szijjarto mentioned that the refusal was made in “a somewhat strained” manner but did not provide specifics about the communication.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to resolve the Ukraine conflict within one day of his inauguration, although he has not clarified how he intends to achieve this, and both Moscow and Kiev have expressed doubts about his capability to independently halt the fighting.
A source reportedly close to Trump told NBC News on Friday, “Trump is really serious about wanting to get to a ceasefire on day one.”
Zelensky asserts that his ten-point ‘peace formula’ is the only feasible plan for resolving the conflict. However, the Kremlin has characterized this proposal— which includes demands for Russia to restore Ukraine’s 1991 borders, pay reparations, and hand over its officials for war crimes tribunals—as “delusional” and “divorced from reality.”
Moscow contends that any resolution must begin with Ukraine halting military actions and recognizing the “territorial reality,” which includes an acknowledgment that it will not regain control over the Russian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporozhye, and Crimea. Moreover, the Kremlin maintains that the objectives of its military operation—namely, Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification—will be fulfilled.
Rohan Mehta contributed to this report for TROIB News
US President-elect Donald Trump is currently evaluating a proposal for a Christmas truce and a prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine, as mentioned by Mike Waltz, Trump's nominee for national security adviser.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met with Trump and Waltz at Mar-a-Lago on Monday, just two days prior to his phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Following that call, the Kremlin reported that Orban had suggested a Christmas Day ceasefire along with a large-scale prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kiev. In response, the Russian government forwarded its ideas for the POW exchange to the Hungarian embassy in Moscow.
In a Sunday interview with CBS News, Waltz refrained from confirming if Orban had transmitted any messages from Trump to Putin. However, he emphasized that the incoming administration aims to “stop the fighting” and hinted that if there is “some type of ceasefire as a first step…we'll take a hard look at what that means.”
Waltz remarked, “Orban has regular engagement with the Russians, and he clearly has a good relationship with President Trump, and I would hope the entire world would want to see some type of cessation to the slaughter,” referring to the Donbass battlefield as “a meat grinder of human beings.”
In a social media update on Wednesday, Orban stated that Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky had “clearly rejected” his ceasefire proposal. Zelensky, on his part, criticized Orban’s diplomatic efforts, suggesting that the Hungarian leader was merely trying to “boost personal image at the expense of unity” within the EU regarding support for Kiev.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto later disclosed that the Ukrainian authorities had declined a request from Orban for a phone call, doing so in a manner described as “quite unprecedented in diplomacy.” In an interview on Sunday with public broadcaster Kossuth Radio, Szijjarto mentioned that the refusal was made in “a somewhat strained” manner but did not provide specifics about the communication.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to resolve the Ukraine conflict within one day of his inauguration, although he has not clarified how he intends to achieve this, and both Moscow and Kiev have expressed doubts about his capability to independently halt the fighting.
A source reportedly close to Trump told NBC News on Friday, “Trump is really serious about wanting to get to a ceasefire on day one.”
Zelensky asserts that his ten-point ‘peace formula’ is the only feasible plan for resolving the conflict. However, the Kremlin has characterized this proposal— which includes demands for Russia to restore Ukraine’s 1991 borders, pay reparations, and hand over its officials for war crimes tribunals—as “delusional” and “divorced from reality.”
Moscow contends that any resolution must begin with Ukraine halting military actions and recognizing the “territorial reality,” which includes an acknowledgment that it will not regain control over the Russian regions of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Zaporozhye, and Crimea. Moreover, the Kremlin maintains that the objectives of its military operation—namely, Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification—will be fulfilled.
Rohan Mehta contributed to this report for TROIB News
