Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico has stated the European Union needs Russia and vice versa.
Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico has pledged to restore relations with Russia after the conflict between Russia and Ukraine ends. Since his return to power last year, Fico has stopped weapons deliveries from Slovakia to Ukraine and has consistently advocated for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. In May, a pro-Ukrainian activist fired several shots at the 60-year-old prime minister, who quickly recovered and resumed his duties within two months.
“If the war ends during the mandate of this government, I will do everything to restore economic and standard relations with Russia,” Fico said at a press conference on Thursday. His government is set to lead the country until 2027.
Fico elaborated by stating that he believes “the EU needs Russia, and Russia needs the EU, of course.”
He also said Slovakia would “care very much about friendly relations with Ukraine.” Fico made these remarks in advance of a meeting between Slovak and Ukrainian government officials next week.
He reiterated his belief that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine cannot be resolved through military means.
“It is proven by the words of many politicians, who are already talking about compromises, that Ukraine should prepare for some sort of compromise,” he said.
The prime minister cited Czech Republic President Petr Pavel as one such politician. Pavel, who was previously a staunch supporter of Ukraine and advocated for increased Western arms shipments to Kiev, told the New York Times last month that “the most probable outcome of the war will be that a part of Ukrainian territory will be under Russian occupation, temporarily.” He also stated that Ukraine should be “realistic about the support that they can achieve” from its international allies.
In June, Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted that the current challenges in relations between Moscow and the EU could have been averted if the bloc’s leaders had “felt more confident and had more courage to defend their national interests.”
A month later, Putin described the state of relations between Russia and the EU as being “at its lowest point.”