Slovakia on Friday, December 27, confirmed it was ready to host peace talks on the war in Ukraine, with Russian President Vladimir Putin previously calling it "acceptable" for the country to become a "platform" for dialogue. "We offer Slovak soil for such negotiations," Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar said on Facebook, nearly three years after the start of the Russian assault.

Putin said Thursday that Slovakia had offered to be a "platform" for possible peace talks and that Russia was "not against it", praising Bratislava's "neutral position." Blanar said any talks must take place "with the participation of all parties, and therefore also of Russia", unlike a previous summit in June in Switzerland. "We consider the statement of the Russian president as a positive signal to end this war, this bloodshed and this destruction as soon as possible," the minister said.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is one of only a handful of European leaders who have remained close to the Kremlin. He met with Putin in Moscow on December 22, provoking an angry reaction from Kyiv.

Blanar said Slovakia informed Ukraine in October about its availability for peace talks.

Despite being a NATO and European Union member, Slovakia has moved closer to Russia since the return to power of the nationalist Fico in late 2023.

Fico has stopped all military aid to Ukraine and accuses Kyiv of jeopardizing his country's supply of Russian gas, which he wants to continue buying.