BUDAPEST, December 18. /TASS/. Vladimir Zelensky needs to give a hard yes or no to the proposed Christmas ceasefire with Russia, which remains in effect, Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orban said.

"The ceasefire proposal is on the table. Either accept it or reject it. It is your responsibility," the prime minister said on his X page, addressing Zelensky.

He also said that he will not "succumb to provocations" in regards to Zelensky’s attempts to mock his peacemaking initiative.

Orban proposed the holiday truce during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 11. Orban proposed to agree to a ceasefire and carry out a large-scale exchange of POWs between Russia and Ukraine during the Christmas period.

Moscow promptly responded to these proposals. Immediately after the phone call, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) sent its proposals on the exchange of POWs to the Hungarian embassy in Moscow. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia supports Orban’s efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Ukrainian crisis and to resolve humanitarian issues related to the exchange of POWs.

On the same day, Orban sought to discuss this issue with Vladimir Zelensky, but the latter refused "in a somewhat tense, but polite manner." The minister called it an "absolutely unprecedented move in diplomacy."