Vladimir Putin said Slovakia's prime minister offered on his recent visit to Moscow to host potential talks between Russia and Ukraine. Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia was open to a Slovakian proposal to host peace talks with Ukraine with a view to ending the war that began in its current form with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed openness to Slovakia's proposal to host peace talks with Ukraine. Amid skepticism from central and eastern European EU states about supporting Ukraine, Slovakian Prime Minister Fico offered Slovakia as a negotiation platform,

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in the Kremlin on Sunday with Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, in a rare visit to Moscow by an EU leader since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began in 2022.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has proposed holding talks on a peaceful settlement of the war between Russia and Ukraine on the territory of his country, Vladimir Putin said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday criticised what he said was Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's lack of desire to end his country's dependency on Russian natural resources as a "big security issue" for Europe and Slovakia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Slovakian authorities "...would be happy to provide their own country as a platform for negotiations".

The weakness, dependence, and short-sightedness of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's energy policy pose threats to the whole of Europe,” said Ukraine's foreign ministry.

Despite the relatively high casualty rate, Zelensky added that North Korea might send even more resources to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s armies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday blasted Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico over his reluctance to end his country's dependency on Russian gas, calling it a "big security issue" for Europe and saying Fico declined compensation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has held talks in the Kremlin with Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, in a rare visit to Moscow by an EU leader since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Putin told a press conference that Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico "said that if there are any negotiations, they would be happy to provide the country as a platform", and added that Russia was "not against it". bur/giv/rlp

Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico arrived in Russia on a “working visit” and met with Putin one-on-one on Sunday evening.