The Kremlin said Thursday that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban proposed a Ukraine Christmas truce to President Vladimir Putin in a phone call the day before. The Hungarian nationalist — one of the few European leaders who has retained ties with Moscow — claimed Wednesday that Ukraine had rejected the proposal,

The Kremlin said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin had fully supported a prisoner of war exchange between Moscow and Kyiv proposed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, but that Ukraine appeared to have turned down the idea.

Russia fully supports a peace initiative and a prisoner of war exchange proposed by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the Kremlin said on Thursday. During a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin,

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow supports Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's request for a Christmas ceasefire and a prisoner exchange with Ukraine, which Orbán made to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin.

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the war in Ukraine and other topics in a phone call initiated by Budapest, the Kremlin claimed in a statement on Dec.