Orban called on Zelenskyy for a ceasefire in order to speed up peace talks with Russia

Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy

The Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, offered the President of Ukraine to consider the possibility of a ceasefire in order to speed up peace negotiations with Russia.

He made such a statement on Tuesday, July 2, during a press conference in Kyiv.

In particular, Viktor Orban said that he suggested to Zelenskyy to stop hostilities on the contact line with Russian troops, in particular because the war has a great impact on the security of Europe.

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Orban emphasized that he highly appreciates Zelenskyy's efforts to achieve peace, but believes that their implementation may take a long time.

«The war in which you are now living has a very intense effect on the security of Europe. We highly appreciate all the initiatives of Mr. President Zelenskyy for the sake of achieving peace. These initiatives take a lot of time. It is precisely because of the rules of international diplomacy that they are complicated, and I asked Mr. President to think about whether it is possible to go a little differently. Take a break. Stop the fire and then continue, start negotiations,» said Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban.

Also, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Viktor Orban discussed work on an agreement to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

«We are trying to close all previous disputes and focus on the future. We wish to establish relations between our countries. We want to sign a global agreement on cooperation with Ukraine, similar to the agreements we have with other countries,» said Viktor Orban.

We will remind that Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban arrived in Kyiv in the morning of July 2. This is his first visit in many years. Viktor Orban did not visit Ukraine either during the term of office of Volodymyr Zelenskyy or during the previous president Petro Poroshenko.

As is known, he last visited Kyiv in 2012 for meetings with the then President Viktor Yanukovych.

Earlier, Prime Minister Viktor Orban considered the desire of the North Atlantic Alliance countries to defeat Russia in the war against Ukraine to be mistaken. He added that Ukraine's victory is not necessary, but despite this, NATO is still «facilitating war, while Hungary is on the side of peace.» At the same time, the prime minister emphasized that he does not want «even one square inch of Hungary to become a Russian military target.»