Ukrainian president rejects Hungary's role as mediator in conflict
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine does not need Hungary's mediation to resolve the conflict and intends to maintain direct contact with US President-elect Donald Trump on relevant issues.
Zelenskyy made these remarks during a meeting with the public in Lviv, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media.
"We don't need such countries as Hungary, or Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who want to act as intermediaries. I won't allow him or others like him. We need direct relations with the US," Zelenskyy said in response to a question about Orban's diplomatic efforts.
The recording of Zelenskyy's remarks was published on the Ukrainian parliament’s (Verkhovna Rada) website.
He added that he expects direct talks with the US after Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025.
"Only then will I be able to say what President Trump supports in terms of this so-called 'victory plan' for Kyiv, and what he doesn't. And what, perhaps, he might propose himself," Zelenskyy noted.
On December 9, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited the US at the invitation of Donald Trump and met with him at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
On December 11, during a phone talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Orban proposed organising a major prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, as well as declaring a Christmas ceasefire. Moscow responded promptly to Orban's initiative, with the Russian Federal Security Service sending proposals for the prisoner exchange to the Hungarian embassy immediately after the phone talks. However, Kyiv rejected the idea.
By Naila Huseynova