Ukraine rejects Hungary's ceasefire proposal

According to RIA Novosti, Deputy Chief of the Office of the President of Ukraine Igor Zhovkva said on a Ukrainian television program on July 2 that President Volodymyr Zelensky had listened to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's proposal for a ceasefire, but Kiev would seek a solution by other methods.

“Prime Minister Orban expressed his thoughts. This is not the first country to talk about such possible scenarios. President Volodymyr Zelensky listened to his interlocutor, but Zelensky’s position is quite clear, understandable and well known,” said the Deputy Head of the President’s Office of Ukraine.

According to Igor Zhovkva, the ceasefire issue cannot be considered separately from the current situation. The official added that Ukraine will seek to resolve the conflict by holding peace summits.

On July 2, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Kiev for the first time in 12 years. Mr. Orban said his goal is to resolve peace issues and develop bilateral relations. During a press conference with President Zelensky, the Hungarian Prime Minister said that he had asked Kiev to consider the possibility of a ceasefire before negotiating a solution to the situation in Ukraine.

“I asked President Zelensky to think about whether it would be possible to go a little differently, pause the war and then continue the negotiations,” said Hungarian Prime Minister Orban.

Prime Minister Orban stressed that the issue of peace in Ukraine will be the main issue in the next six months of Hungary's rotating presidency of the European Union.

On the Russian side, the Kremlin said it did not expect any results from Prime Minister Orban's visit to Kiev.

Valdai International Discussion Club member Gabor Stier said that the Hungarian Prime Minister’s initiative does not meet the “point of view of the Ukrainian authorities”. In addition, Russia has stated that it is ready to conduct dialogue on peace, not on a temporary ceasefire. Therefore, according to Stier, the Hungarian Prime Minister’s initiative is currently difficult to implement./.