| Russia-Ukraine peace talks: NATO member shows neutral stance, President Putin ‘acceptable’, military conflict about to end? Pictured: Slovak President Robert Fico and his Russian counterpart Putin. (Source: Reuters) |
On social networks FacebookSlovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said: “We propose to hold such negotiations on the territory of Slovakia.”
According to Blanar, any negotiations must take place “with the participation of all parties and must therefore include Russia”, unlike the peace talks in Switzerland in June.
On December 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that his country was ready to accept Slovakia’s proposal to host peace negotiations with Ukraine to end the current conflict.
Responding to the press conference, President Putin said that his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico had proposed holding peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. He stressed that Russia “does not oppose” this proposal and welcomed Bratislava’s “neutral position”.
Slovak President Robert Fico met with the Russian president in Moscow on December 22. His visit comes despite Western efforts to isolate Russia.
Slovakia is a member of the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which has cut off military aid to Ukraine since fall 2023 under President Fico’s administration and calls for peace negotiations.
The statement comes as Ukraine announced it would not renew a contract that expires at the end of this year to allow Russian gas to pass through the country to Europe and that it still does not exist viable alternative.
Commenting on this statement, Mr. Blanar stressed: “We consider the Russian president’s statement as a positive signal to end this war, this bloodshed and this destruction as quickly as possible.”
On the same day, President Putin said that Russia would continue to achieve all goals of the special military campaign in Ukraine in 2025. He also noted that Russia could use the Oreshnik missile system if necessary, but emphasized that ‘there would be no rush. make a decision because the system is very powerful and designed to solve specific problems.
