Slovakia's Prime Minister said the conflict in Ukraine is "frozen" and could last until 2029 or 2030 if peace negotiations are not held.
Mr. Fico assessed that the situation on the Ukrainian battlefield has "frozen", warning that the conflict could last until 2029 or 2030 if the parties do not negotiate. The Slovakian Prime Minister reaffirmed that he would stop providing military aid to Ukraine, but pledged not to condemn countries that continue to provide weapons.
Also at the press conference, Prime Minister Fiala affirmed that the Czech government will continue to support Ukraine's "courageous struggle".
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in the capital Bratislava on October 23. Photo: AFP
Robert Fico is a left-wing politician who led Slovakia’s Social Democratic Party to victory in September’s general election. One of his pledges to voters was to halt military aid to Ukraine. Fico’s ruling coalition blocked a $44 million defense aid package that the previous government had pledged to Ukraine.
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine ended in April 2022, after meetings in Belarus and Türkiye failed to make a breakthrough.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in June first announced the draft peace agreement called "Treaty on Permanent Neutral Status and Security Guarantees of Ukraine" developed by the two sides during negotiations.
Accordingly, Ukraine pledged to put "permanent neutrality" into its constitution, while Russia, the US, the UK, China, Türkiye and Belarus will be the countries that guarantee the country's security.
Mr Putin confirmed that the Ukrainian negotiating delegation had initialed the draft, but Kiev later tore up the preliminary agreement.
MP David Arakhamia, the former head of the Ukrainian delegation, denied the information, noting that the delegation did not have the authority to sign. He said that Moscow had proposed Kiev to exchange neutrality for peace, but Ukraine did not trust its opponents and feared that Russia would make empty promises to buy time to prepare for a new campaign.
Thanh Danh (According to AFP )
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