US Department of State comments on Orbán's ceasefire proposal in Ukraine

The US Department of State has commented on the proposal from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during his visit to Ukraine, which called for an immediate ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, an idea that is common to all pro-Russian "peace plans".

Vedant Patel, a spokesperson for the US State Department, was asked at a briefing in Washington, DC whether his agency was concerned that the Hungarian prime minister's proposal might indicate a split within NATO.

"We [the US] and the NATO Alliance have been clear that there really is only one solution here, and that is the Russian Federation simply leaving Ukrainian territory," Patel said.

Answering a follow-up question about whether the State Department is concerned that this shows a disagreement with Hungary since it is a different stance from the one Orbán has taken, he said that he leaves it to "the respective countries to speak to their own policies".

"But we have been clear with partners and allies across the board that any country that has influence or has a role to play should play every effort in ensuring that Russia withdraws from Ukraine totally," Patel said.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán confirmed that Zelenskyy had rejected his proposed "truce" between Ukraine and Russia that envisaged a freeze on the current line of contact between Ukrainian and Russian forces.

During his visit to Kyiv, the Hungarian leader said that he had promoted the idea of an immediate truce, an idea that is present in all pro-Russian "peace plans," but did not insist on it.

According to Orbán, the Ukrainian president doubted the logic of the Hungarian leader’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.

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