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The Kremlin said Thursday that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban proposed a Ukraine Christmas truce to President Vladimir Putin in a phone call the day before.
The Hungarian nationalist — one of the few European leaders who has retained ties with Moscow — claimed Wednesday that Ukraine had rejected the proposal, but Kyiv said it had not discussed the initiative.
“During a phone conversation, Orban proposed carrying out a major prisoner exchange on Christmas Eve and announcing a Christmas ceasefire in Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Peskov claimed that Russia submitted “proposals” on the exchange to the Hungarian embassy in Moscow “that day,” saying it supported “Orban’s efforts.”
Orban on Wednesday claimed Kyiv had rejected the proposal.
However, Ukraine denied discussing the proposal. In a written statement, presidential aide Dmytro Lytvyn said, “As always, the Hungarian side did not discuss anything with Ukraine. As always, the Hungarian side did not warn [us] about its contacts with Moscow.”
Orban is due to meet Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan later on Thursday as part of what he calls a “peace mission.”
The Hungarian leader has been blasted by other EU countries for maintaining contacts with the Kremlin almost three years into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
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