Orbán confirms to pro-Putin journalist that Zelenskyy did not back his "peace plan"

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has indicated that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy turned down his proposed "truce" between Ukraine and Russia, which would have involved freezing the current front line.

Following their bilateral talks, Orbán stated in his remarks to the press that he had suggested that Zelenskyy accept an immediate ceasefire along the line of contact with Russian forces, believing it could expedite peace negotiations.

Orbán added that he did not insist on his initiative and accepted Ukraine’s reasoning.

Later, in an interview with a pro-Putin journalist who arrived in Kyiv with the Hungarian delegation and conducted an interview with Orbán after the meetings, the Hungarian leader confirmed that Zelenskyy had turned down his proposal of an "immediate truce".

According to Orbán, the Ukrainian president doubted the logic of Orbán's plan and did not support it, as Ukraine has a history of unsuccessful truce attempts with Russia.

Such truces "were not good for Ukraine", Orbán quoted Zelenskyy as saying.

The said journalist, whom the Hungarian side included in the delegation, is Roger Köppel, editor-in-chief, publisher and key author of the Swiss website and weekly Die Weltwoche. This is not a widely popular website, but Orbán has already had interviews with it several times. Köppel says that Orbán personally invited him to come to Kyiv.

Köppel had previously been a guest of the German-language edition of the Russian propaganda broadcaster RT until it was closed. In 2023, he travelled to Russia to interview the local propagandist Vladimir Solovyov and the children's ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova, who, along with Putin, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes. In his publication, he systematically defends Putin.

After the leaders' meeting in Kyiv, the Hungarian foreign minister called his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.