Volodymyr Zelensky again criticized the Hungarian Prime Minister for the attempts to mediate the ceasefire.
Volodymyr Zelensky does not allow Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to mediate in the negotiations ending the war in Ukraine. This was announced by the Ukrainian president at the Conference of Local and Regional Self-Governments on December 17 in Lemberg.
Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is a strong country and showed this on the battlefield against Putin's aggression
- wrote Ukrainszka Pravda .
Who else in Europe has this experience? To no one. Does Orbán have such an army? There isn't. How would you put pressure on Putin? With a joke, a smile? You can keep that, he added.
Zelensky separately noted that Ukraine needs direct, unmediated relations with the United States.
Prime Minister Orbán, who wants to achieve peace for Ukraine, knows that somehow, somewhere... it won't work. I will not let him or people like him manage this - added the Ukrainian president, emphasizing that he was talking about the Hungarian Prime Minister, not the Hungarian people.
On Monday, a statement was also published on the website of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which called on the Hungarian government to end the "manipulations" regarding the Christmas prisoner exchange and cease-fire related to the Russian-Ukrainian war.
"Hungarian officials claim again that they can stop the war, but these claims are not true. In reality, after the Hungarian peacekeeping appeals to Moscow, deadly missiles and drones are flying towards Ukrainian cities and settlements," says the statement, adding:
The actions of the Hungarian side are even further from peacekeeping than the declarations. Hungary has consistently called for Ukraine, which is defending itself against genocidal Russian aggression, to be left without self-defense weapons and is blocking funding for strengthening Ukrainian defense capabilities, increasing sanctions pressure against the aggressor, and other critical decisions. All this has nothing to do with the intention of restoring peace.
The statement emphasizes: "We call on the Hungarian side to stop immoral manipulations on the topic of peace and Christmas, to refrain from unilateral relations with the aggressor state, which undermines joint efforts to restore a just peace."
At the end of the statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine states:
"Only Russia and its war-obsessed dictator stand in the way of peace. Ukraine wants peace on its land like no other country in the world. The joint efforts of our country and its partners are aimed at achieving a just and sustainable peace. Ukraine has always adhered to the principles of honest dialogue and mutual respect. We will continue constructive relations with our partners who sincerely want the end of the war, not the defeat of Ukraine".
Cover photo: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán (b) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi (j)
Source: MTI/Prime Minister's Press Office/Zoltán Fischer
