Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday to consider a ceasefire to accelerate an end to the war with Russia and also said he wanted a big cooperation agreement with Kyiv.
Orban, who is an outspoken critic of Western military aid to Ukraine, opens new tab and has the warmest relations of any EU leader with Russian President Vladimir Putin, held talks with Zelenskiy during his first trip to Kyiv in more than a decade.
In brief joint statements to reporters after the talks, Orban said he valued Kyiv's push to promote Zelenskiy's vision of peace at an international summit in June in Switzerland and its aim to hold a second, follow-up summit later this year.
"I asked the president to think about whether we could reverse the order, and speed up peace talks with making a ceasefire first," Orban said.
"A ceasefire connected to a deadline would give a chance to speed up peace talks. I explored this possibility with the president and I am grateful for his honest answers and negotiation."
Zelenskiy, who spoke before Orban, did not respond to those comments.
The Ukrainian leader touted the possibility of a broad bilateral cooperation agreement between Ukraine and Hungary.
"...the content of our dialogue today on all issues can become the basis for a bilateral document between our states, a document that will regulate all our mutual relations," he said.
Welcoming Zelenskiy's comments, Orban said Hungary would like to help in modernising Ukraine's economy.
Ties between the neighbours came under heavy strain after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, with Budapest often opposing European Union efforts to support Kyiv.
Under Orban, who upset Western partners by holding talks with Putin last October, Hungary has repeatedly accused Ukraine of curbing the rights of roughly 150,000 ethnic Hungarians living in the far west of Ukraine.
Ukraine, meanwhile, is keen to secure Hungary's backing as it relies heavily on financial and military support from the 27-member EU, where unanimity is needed for many decisions.
Orban proposes ceasefire to speed up peace talks
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