UNITED NATIONS, July 18. /TASS/. Hungary offers the UN to become a platform for negotiations on settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said, speaking at the UN General Assembly Tuesday.

He reaffirmed that Hungary calls to resolve the situation in Ukraine diplomatically and noted: "the sooner peace talks begin, the fewer people will die."

Although some say that it is too early to begin peace negotiations and preconditions for such negotiations have not been created yet, Hungary believes that "yesterday was too late already."

"Those who advocate the postponement of negotiations, risk even more deaths, as well as longer and more costly rebuilding," the minister underscored.

In this regard, he expressed gratitude to Vatican, Turkey, African states and China, who proposed their initiatives on settlement of the Ukrainian conflict.

"It would be nice if the UN could serve as a platform for such dialogue," Szijjarto said, adding that this organization’s tribune should be used for discussion of paths towards peace instead of ways to wage war in Ukraine.