President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia is open to Slovakia’s proposal to host peace talks with Ukraine aimed at ending the war that began in its current form with a full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. .
President Putin held an unannounced meeting with Slovakian Prime Minister Roberto Fico on Sunday, who said Ukraine would extend Russian gas supplies to Slovakia via Ukraine when the current contract expires at the end of the year. He said he visited because he was reluctant.
President Putin said on Russian television on Thursday that during his visit, President Fico informed him that Slovak authorities were “willing to offer their country as a venue for negotiations.”
“As far as that goes, we have no objections,” he said. “Why? Slovakia has a neutral position.”
The Ukrainian government did not immediately react.
Fico’s surprise visit to Moscow amid Ukraine gas conflict
Fico unsuccessfully tried to get Kyiv to reconsider its refusal to extend a pipeline gas contract on Ukrainian territory at last week’s European Union summit, which was also attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. .
He made an unannounced visit to Moscow on Sunday after a meeting in Brussels, saying he had notified EU leaders several days in advance.
He called the meeting a “response” to Zelenskiy and his continued stance, saying it was “unacceptable” and threatened Slovakia’s energy supplies.
He said he had a “long conversation” with Putin in which they discussed issues such as “prospects for an early peaceful end to the war” in Ukraine. He did not mention it when offering to host or facilitate the talks.
Zelensky, on the other hand, said that the relatively pro-Moscow Fico, who cut off Slovakia’s military aid to Ukraine shortly after taking power last year, was preoccupied with economic issues while Ukrainians were in the fighting. He said that he was being treated as such. He also argued that Fico’s motives may not be in Slovakia’s interests.
Zelensky said: “We are fighting for our lives, Fico is fighting for money, and it is unlikely that the money is for Slovakia. The shadow deal with President Putin is a trade in national interests. “Either they are working for personal gain.”
Slovak opposition leaders were also highly critical of Fico’s visit. The next day, large crowds protested in Bratislava.
Putin: ‘It’s too late to renew gas delivery contract’
Putin said in a televised address on Thursday that there was no time left this year to extend the deal to supply gas to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria via Ukraine, and warned that Kiev was punishing Europe for the move. He claimed that there was.
“There is no contract and it is impossible to conclude it in three or four days,” he said.
Russian gas supplies to Europe have been cut to less than 10% of peak levels before the invasion of Ukraine, and the EU has set a goal for the bloc to eventually import none at all.
Still, some countries are more dependent on it than others, and landlocked Slovakia, which is also a NATO member, is among the most at risk.
This is not the first time Russia has discussed peace negotiations.
Putin has repeatedly said that Russia is open to talks to end the conflict with Kiev under appropriate conditions, while also achieving its goals in Ukraine.
He has also continued both ground offensives on the front lines in regions such as Donetsk and airstrikes into Ukraine, including a major attack on energy infrastructure on the morning of December 25th.
In his speech Thursday, as well as at his year-end press conference last week, Putin also threatened further use of intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missiles known as Oreshniks.
Putin said he “does not rule out the possibility of using it both today and tomorrow if necessary,” but insisted that Russia was in no hurry to do so.
msh/rmt (AFP, Reuters)
