Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a recent unannounced visit to Moscow that has helped end Russia’s international isolation that his country is ready to be a platform for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, on Friday, the 27th of December, reports Politico.
“If it comes to that, why not?” Putin told reporters at a press conference after a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic council in Leningrad. “Because from our point of view, Slovakia takes a neutral position. For us it is an acceptable alternative.”
Earlier this year, Fico, along with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, became Putin’s and Russia’s protector in the European Union (EU), promising to block Ukraine’s entry into NATO and refusing to send military aid to Kyiv.
The meeting between Fico and Putin before Christmas on the 22nd of December was not announced in advance. At the time, it was reported that the Slovak leader was trying to resolve Kyiv’s refusal to continue Russian gas supplies to Slovakia after the current contract expires at the end of 2024.
Peace talks were not mentioned at the time, but Fico later stated on social media that “during a long conversation with V. Putin we exchanged views on the military situation in Ukraine [and] on the possibility of ending the war peacefully”.
Slovak opposition leader Michal Šimečka told local media that if Fico wanted peace between Russia and Ukraine, he should first get Putin to end the war.
“If the Russian military stops its attacks, they [Fico and Putin] can talk about peace even on the porch of Fico’s house,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X after the meeting between Fico and Putin that the two “did not make joint statements or answer questions from the media”, claiming that this was because “they are afraid of the public reaction”.
“Why is this leader [Fico] so dependent on Moscow?” Zelenskyy asked. “What is he being paid and by whom?”