The conflict has no military solution, according to Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar
The next international summit for finding a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict must include Russia, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said on Wednesday, following a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrey Sibiga.
According to Blanar, the Ukraine conflict has no “military solution” and steps must be taken in order to end it through negotiations “as soon as possible.” He noted that Kiev supports the idea of inviting representatives from Russia to the next conference.
“We agreed and the minister confirmed that the next peace negotiation must be with the participation of the Russian Federation,” Blanar stated, as cited by the Slovak newspaper Pravda. Blanar also signaled Bratislava’s support for Ukraine’s EU membership bid, but noted that Slovakia is opposed to Kiev’s ambitions to join NATO.
“Ukraine’s membership in NATO would create further conflicts,” Blanar stated, without elaborating. Russia has consistently emphasized its opposition to Ukraine joining NATO. Kiev’s neutral status is one of the key demands Moscow has made for a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
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Russia was not invited to the previous Ukraine peace conference held in Switzerland in June. The summit failed to deliver any visible results, with many nations in attendance refusing to sign the joint declaration and lamenting Russia’s absence. Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed the summit as a “ruse,” aimed at “reversing the cause and effect” of the conflict.
Ukraine and Russia last negotiated in the spring of 2022 in Türkiye. The two sides managed to draft a peace treaty that was preliminarily approved. However, the document was never finalized, and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky later issued a decree banning peace talks with Putin.