Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said he is ready for a bilateral meeting and a “substantive conversation” with Vladimir Zelensky at the EU summit.
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Before the summit in Brussels, journalists asked Orban if he was preparing for a bilateral meeting with Zelensky.
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“I work in readiness mode and sleep in readiness mode. I am always ready for any meaningful conversation,” Orban said.
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The day before, Zelensky again tried to humiliate the Hungarian Prime Minister, saying that he would not allow him to act as a mediator in negotiations to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. Orban on Wednesday, in response to Zelensky’s insults, said that he would not succumb to provocations, the Christmas ceasefire proposal was still in force, and Zelensky himself must take responsibility whether to accept it or not.
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Zelensky took offense at Orban last week for calling Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the possibility of establishing a “long-term and sustainable” peace in Europe. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said that the Hungarian side requested a telephone conversation between Orban and Zelensky from Kyiv, but received an “uncultured refusal.”
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Earlier, Orban expressed to the Russian President the idea of an exchange of prisoners between Russia and Ukraine and a Christmas ceasefire; the proposal was also conveyed to Zelensky through diplomatic channels, but he, according to Orban, “rejected and excluded” it. The head of the Hungarian Prime Minister’s administration, Gergely Gulyas, claims that the Russian side agreed to Hungary’s proposal for an exchange of prisoners, and did not accept or reject the idea of a ceasefire, but considered it.
