Hungary’s Orban urges Russia-Ukraine ceasefire on surprise visit to Kyiv
Al Jazeera
President Zelenskyy stresses that Kyiv needs a ‘just peace’ after more than two years of fighting Russia’s invasion.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has called for a ceasefire in Ukraine during a rare trip to the war-torn country.
In a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday, Orban, a fiery critic of Western military aid to Ukraine, suggested a speedy ceasefire could expedite peace talks.
Orban also said Hungary wanted to improve its ties with Ukraine and offered to help modernise its economy, in an apparent olive-branch to its long-estranged neighbour.
Zelenskyy, speaking alongside Orban at a news briefing, said he “appreciates” the Hungarian leader’s visit, the first in more than a decade, but stressed that Ukraine needs a “just peace” after more than two years of fighting Russia’s invasion.
Orban said he would report on his talks with Zelenskyy to European Union prime ministers “so that the necessary European decisions can be taken”.
