Orban calls for Ukraine ceasefire to pave the way to peace talks

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Orban calls for Ukraine ceasefire to pave the way to peace talks

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Kyiv Tuesday, a day after he took over the EU's rotating presidency. A vocal critic of the EU's support for Ukraine, Orban urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to consider a ceasefire to accelerate an end to the war with Russia.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged Kyiv on Tuesday to work towards a "quick ceasefire" in Ukraine that could pave the way for negotiations with Russia to end more than two years of war.

Orban issued the appeal standing next to President Volodymyr Zelensky during a surprise visit to Ukraine, the first by the vocal critic of Western support for Kyiv.

"I asked the president to consider whether... a quick ceasefire could speed up the peace talks," the Hungarian leader told reporters with Zelensky, adding that the ceasefire he envisions would be "time-limited".

Unlike many other European leaders, Orban had not visited Kyiv since Russia invaded in February 2022 and has publicly hit out at Europe's financial and military aid, temporarily blocking a 50-billion-euro ($53-billion) aid package for weeks.

Orban, in power since 2010, met with Putin in October 2023 at a regional summit in Beijing, becoming the first EU leader to do so since the start of the war.

A 'just peace'

(AFP)


Read more on FRANCE 24 English

Read also:
Hungary's eurosceptic Orban takes helm of rotating EU presidency
Hungary's Peter Magyar, Orban-disciple-turned-fierce-rival

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