Hungarian FM Szijjártó: Hungarian government proposed Christmas ceasefire, exchange of POWs

Hungary’s government has proposed a Christmas ceasefire and prisoner exchange in Ukraine, but the Ukrainian leadership has rejected it, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said in Budapest on Wednesday.

Szijjártó talks about Hungary’s proposal

Szijjártó said that after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán tabled the proposal during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Hungarian government contacted Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office. “The communication channels are open in every direction, and we would like to keep them that way, as that is the only hope for peace and for peace talks,” Szijjártó said, according to a ministry statement.

“What a shame that President Zelensky, in a public post on X a few minutes ago, excluded and rejected everything we talked about in the morning,” Szijjarto said.

“We have done everything in our power. The Hungarian peace mission was a constant theme of the Hungarian presidency, and we hope that peace will soon return to the region. It is obvious that we will have to make strenuous efforts for that,” he said.

Meanwhile, Szijjártó said he also had talks with Alexandr Novak, the Russian deputy prime minister for energy affairs, and “clarified legal solutions that will ensure preserving the Hungarian-Russian energy cooperation, and so Hungary’s energy security.”

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