Putin says Slovakia and Fico willing to broker Ukraine talks

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. 

Putin hosted Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico for unannounced talks on Sunday, with Fico saying he made the visit because of Ukraine's unwillingness to extend Russian gas deliveries to Slovakia via Ukraine when the current contract expires at the end of the year. 

Putin said on Russian television on Thursday that Fico had told him during the visit that Slovakian authorities "would be happy to provide their own country as a platform for negotiations." 

"We are not opposed, if it comes to that," he said. "Why not? Since Slovakia takes such a neutral position." 

Ukraine's government did not immediately respond.

Fico's surprise trip to Moscow amid Ukraine gas dispute

Fico tried without success during last week's European Union summit, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended, to convince Kyiv to reconsider its refusal to extend a gas delivery contract using pipelines in Ukrainian territory. 

On Sunday, he made his unannounced visit to Moscow, saying he had informed top EU leaders a couple of days prior, after the meeting in Brussels. 

He called the meeting "a response" to Zelenskyy and his unchanged stance, saying it threatened Slovakian energy supply and calling this "unacceptable." 

He said that in a "long conversation" with Putin he had discussed issues including "the prospects of an early peaceful end to the war" in Ukraine. He made no mention at the time of offering to host or facilitate talks. 

Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said the comparatively pro-Moscow Fico, who cut Slovakian military assistance to Ukraine soon after coming to power last year, was preoccupied with economic issues while Ukrainians were in combat. He also alleged Fico's motives might not be in Slovakia's interests.

"We are fighting for our lives, Fico is fighting for money, and it's unlikely that money is for Slovakia. Shadow agreements with Putin are either a trade of state interests or working for personal gain," Zelenskyy said.

Slovakia's opposition leaders were also highly critical of Fico's visit; large crowds protested against it the following day in Bratislava.

Putin: Too late to renew gas delivery contracts

Putin said during Thursday's televised address that there was no time left this year to extend the agreement that brings gas to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria via Ukraine, claiming that Kyiv was punishing Europe with the move. 

"There is no contract and it is impossible to conclude it in 3-4 days," he said. 

Russian gas deliveries to Europe have been slashed to less than 10% of their peak levels prior to the invasion of Ukraine, with the EU's stated aim as a bloc being to eventually import none at all. 

Still, some countries are more dependent on its delivery than others, with landlocked Slovakia, also a NATO member, among the most exposed.

Not first time Russia has mooted peace talks 

Putin has repeatedly said Russia is open to talks to end the conflict with Kyiv under the right conditions, but also that it would achieve its goals in Ukraine.

He has also continued both ground attacks at front lines in areas like Donetsk and aerial bombardments of Ukraine, including major strikes on energy infrastructure on the morning of December 25. 

In Thursday's address, Putin also threatened another use of the intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile known as Oreshnik, as he did in his end-of-year media briefing last week. 

"We do not exclude the possibility of using it both today and tomorrow, if necessary," Putin said, while also asserting that Russia was in no hurry to do so. 

msh/rmt (AFP, Reuters)