Slovakia has confirmed it is ready to host peace talks on Ukraine, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Bratislava had offered to be a “platform” for dialogue on the Ukrainian issue.

“We offer to host such negotiations on Slovak soil,” Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said in a Facebook post.

He stressed that the negotiations should be held “with the participation of all parties, including Russia,” as opposed to the June summit in Switzerland. At the same time, he said Bratislava informed its “Ukrainian partners” in October of its availability to host peace negotiations.

Yesterday, Putin told a news conference that Slovakia offered to be a “platform” for possible peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, nearly three years after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitso “said that if there are negotiations, he would be happy for his country to provide a platform,” the Russian president said, noting that Moscow “is not opposed” to such a proposal.

“We consider the Russian president’s statement as a positive signal to end this war, bloodshed and destruction as soon as possible,” the Slovak foreign minister wrote.

At yesterday’s press conference, the Russian president also said Moscow would achieve “all (its) goals in Ukraine”. “This is the number one goal,” he said.

Although a member state of the European Union and NATO, Slovakia, with Fisso’s return to the premiership after the 2023 elections, has moved closer to Russia by reheating bilateral relations, following Hungary’s path regarding the war in Ukraine. The Slovak prime minister has halted all military aid to Ukraine and accuses Kiev of endangering his country’s supply of Russian gas, which he wants to continue to buy.

Fitcho, one of the few European leaders to maintain close ties with the Kremlin even after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, visited Moscow on December 22. The visit drew the ire of Kiev.