The Hungarian prime minister previously said that Kiev had rejected his offer of mediation with Russia
FILE PHOTO. © Getty Images/Soltan Frédéric Unlike Kiev, Russia has been willing to accept a proposal by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to mediate a major exchange of prisoners in the Ukraine conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has revealed. The Hungarian leader previously stated that the Ukrainian government rejected his proposal for a Christmas truce with Russia and a swap of POWs. He and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone on Wednesday. Peskov said the prisoner-swap idea was discussed by the two leaders. “On the very same day, the Federal Security Service sent to the Hungarian embassy in Moscow our proposals regarding exchange of prisoners,” the Russian official said. Orban’s proposals, including this one, were evidently rejected in Kiev, Peskov added. Russia for its part welcomes Budapest’s humanitarian efforts, he added. Prisoner swaps are among the few issues on which Moscow and Kiev communicate with each other. The United Arab Emirates has in the past facilitated exchanges such as the one proposed. READ MORE: Ukrainians should return from Germany and make weapons – Zelensky aide In early December, Russian human rights ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova released a list of Ukrainian citizens in its custody, whom she said Kiev refuses to consider for a prisoner exchange. “Zelensky does not need 630 Ukrainian citizens who were captured. He abandoned them,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stressed about the servicemen, commenting on the list’s publication. Kiev is prioritizing the return of people it considers valuable, such as members of units famous for their proximity to Ukrainian nationalist circles, and disregarding the fate of regular conscripts, according to Russian officials.
