Russian President Vladimir Putin stated today, Friday, that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, during his visit to Kyiv, called for a ceasefire to create conditions for negotiations regarding the Ukrainian crisis. Putin said at the conclusion of his discussions with the Hungarian Prime Minister, "Mr. Prime Minister (Hungarian Orban) talked about his recent meetings in Kyiv, where he made a number of proposals, particularly the call for a ceasefire in order to create conditions to start negotiations with Russia."
Putin noted that Kyiv does not allow the idea of a ceasefire because the excuse for extending martial law would disappear in this case. He stated, "In my opinion, the Kyiv regime does not allow the idea of stopping hostilities, because in this case, it would not have an excuse to extend martial law."
He emphasized that implementing Russia's peace initiatives would allow for an end to hostilities and the beginning of negotiations, saying, "Our peace initiatives were outlined recently in my meetings with the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, and it seems to us that implementing them would allow for an end to hostilities and the start of negotiations."
The Russian President also confirmed that among the conditions proposed by Moscow is the complete withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from the territories recently annexed by the Russian Federation. Just yesterday, Thursday, the Russian President revealed at the conclusion of his trip to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit that Western countries continued to demand a ceasefire when the Russian army reached the outskirts of Kyiv in 2022.
