Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Slovakia had offered to be a "platform" for possible peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, nearly three years since the launch of Moscow's offensive.

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia is open to a Slovakian ... Putin, who this week hosted Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico in the Kremlin, said that Fico, an outspoken opponent of European Union support for Ukraine ...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his evening address on Monday, 23 December, has once again criticised Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who on 22 December held talks with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin regarding gas supplies.

Robert Fico meets with the Russian president amid concerns about his country's gas supplies, and at a time when Slovakia is withdrawing support for Ukraine's war effort.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico made a statement following his visit to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in Moscow. According to him, the visit was a response to Ukraine's reluctance to continue the transit of gas from Russia to Europe.

Prime Minister Robert Fico’s surprise visit to Moscow on Sunday, reportedly to discuss natural gas and Ukraine, was a blow to European unity against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

"In a long conversation ... Putin and I exchanged views on the military situation in Ukraine, the possibilities of an early peaceful end to the war, and on mutual relations between the Slovak Republic and the Russian Federation,

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Slovakia had offered to be ... 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 ...

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.

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in the Kremlin on Sunday with Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico (shown here in Brussels in February 2024), in a rare visit to Moscow by an EU leader since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)