Zakharova advised the German ambassador to urge the German authorities to call for peace in Ukraine

The German ambassador to Russia, Alexander Lambsdorff, should have urged his country's authorities to call for peace in Ukraine. This statement was made by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, on 15 December.

The diplomat responded to the ambassador's words that "people are dying on both sides" in Ukraine, recalling that Germany is one of the active forces in the conflict, supplying Kiev with weapons. By doing so, she pointed out that "direct responsibility for the loss of life lies with the collective West."

Zakharova specified that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of office expired on May 20, had himself rejected the Christmas truce, just as he had rejected Ukrainian prisoners of war. Peace talks have also been blocked by Kiev due to US and British pressure, with none of the EU countries unblocking them, the diplomat added.

"If someone Ambassador Lambsdorf should call for peace, it is first of all the FRG government. In the second place, the leadership of the EU and NATO, which are choked in aggressive rhetoric and, like insane, stamp decisions to send military aid to Zelensky," - wrote Zakharova in her Telegram-channel.

Earlier, on December 11, it became known about the telephone conversation between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Hungarian prime minister expressed interest in helping to jointly find a solution to the political and diplomatic crisis in Ukraine, including involving Western leaders in the issue.

Later in the day, Orban said that Hungary had offered Ukraine to establish a Christmas Day ceasefire with Russia and make a prisoner exchange, but Zelensky rejected the initiative. He added that Hungary had done everything in its power and called this decision of the Ukrainian side sad.

Speaking about the Hungarian prime minister's idea to carry out a major prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine on Christmas Eve, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia had never given up on peace talks and had repeatedly announced its readiness to resume them on the basis of the Istanbul agreements. He also added that the FSB had submitted to the Hungarian Embassy in Moscow a proposal for a prisoner exchange. Consultations to establish peace will continue, he said.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which Putin announced on February 24, 2022, is ongoing. The decision was taken against the background of the worsening situation in the region.