Hungarian foreign minister calls his Russian counterpart to complain about Ukraine

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó has called his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to complain about Ukraine's rejection of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's proposal for a Christmas truce and a prisoner-of-war swap between Kyiv and Moscow.

Source: European Pravda, citing the press service for Russia's Foreign Ministry

Details: During the conversation, Szijjártó informed Lavrov that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had rejected Hungary's proposal for a temporary ceasefire in the war zone and a large-scale prisoner exchange between Kyiv and Moscow.

The Hungarian foreign minister said Budapest had been notified of this by Ukrainian officials.

Lavrov responded by claiming that "this is not the first time Kyiv has rejected the initiatives of states sincerely interested in peace, including Hungary and Türkiye, despite the signals it has sent".

Russia's Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow backs the "realistic approach to ending" the war it initiated against Kyiv, as outlined by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in his 14 June speech.

Background: 

• On 11 December, Orbán claimed that Hungary had proposed a ceasefire and a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war for Christmas but that President Zelenskyy had rejected the idea.
• Orbán made this comment in response to a tweet by Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, who had reacted sharply to the Hungarian prime minister's conversation with Kremlin leader Putin on Wednesday.
• Zelenskyy stressed that "no one should boost personal image at the expense of unity; everyone should focus on shared success".

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