Trump party examines Orban’s ceasefire initiative
Date
12/17/2024 6:38:02 AM
(MENAFN) US President-elect Donald Trump’s team is reviewing a ceasefire initiative proposed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, which suggests a Christmas truce and a large-scale prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine. Orban, who met with trump and his nominee for national security adviser, Mike Waltz, at Mar-a-Lago, later spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin, leading to a response from Moscow regarding the proposed POW exchange.
Waltz expressed that Trump’s administration would carefully consider the proposal as a possible first step to stop the fighting. He emphasized the importance of halting the ongoing conflict, describing the battle in Donbass as a "meat grinder" of human lives.
Orban's proposal, however, was rejected by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who criticized the Hungarian leader’s initiative as an attempt to boost his image at Ukraine’s expense. Hungarian officials noted that Ukraine had also declined a call from Orban, marking the diplomatic response as "unprecedented."
Trump has frequently promised to end the Ukraine conflict swiftly upon taking office, though both Moscow and Kiev question his ability to achieve this. The Kremlin maintains that any peace settlement should begin with Ukraine acknowledging Russia’s territorial gains, while Zelensky insists on his own peace plan.
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