Orban offers Zelenskyy a ceasefire with Russia and negotiations

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has offered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a ceasefire with Russia. He also said that Zelenskyy's peace initiatives will take a long time and "we can go another way."

The Hungarian prime minister made the statements during a joint briefing in Kyiv on July 2 with the Ukrainian president, an OBOZ.UA correspondent reported. According to Orban, a ceasefire "could speed up the negotiation process".

"The war you are living in now has a very intense impact on the security of Europe. We very much appreciate all the initiatives of Mr. President Zelenskyy to achieve peace. These initiatives take a lot of time. It is the rules of international diplomacy that make them difficult, and I have asked Mr. President to think about whether we can take a slightly different approach. To take a break. To cease fire and then continue, to start negotiations. Because a ceasefire could accelerate the pace of these negotiations," Orban said.

Earlier it was reported that on Tuesday, July 2, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Ukraine. He arrived in Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This is the first visit to Ukraine by a Hungarian politician since the beginning of the full-scale war.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, on June 27, Viktor Orban and Zelensky had a lively conversation at the EU Council summit in Brussels. It is still unknown what the leaders of the two countries talked about, but it was noted that it was the head of the Hungarian government who initiated a brief conversation with the Ukrainian leader.

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