Fico announces Slovakia’s accession to China and Brazil’s ‘peace initiative’ on Ukraine
Fico announces Slovakia’s accession to China and Brazil’s ‘peace initiative’ on Ukraine
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has announced that his country will join the Friends of Peace group initiated by China and Brazil to achieve a peaceful settlement of the war between Russia and Ukraine. He made the announcement during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, TASR reports.
During the talks, Xi Jinping and Fico discussed the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The Chinese leader stressed Beijing’s position on the ‘Ukrainian crisis’, which is aimed at a political solution to the conflict.
Xi praised Slovakia’s ‘fair and objective position’ on Russia’s war against Ukraine and invited Slovakia, along with other like-minded countries, to facilitate peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv.
Fico, for his part, welcomed China’s position, calling it ‘fair and constructive,’ and confirmed Slovakia’s participation in the Friends of Peace platform, which aims to support political dialogue to resolve the conflict.
Fico’s state visit to Beijing began on 31 October and will last until 5 November. After his meeting with Xi on 1 November, it was announced that Slovakia and China would upgrade their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership.
As you know, China, Brazil and several other countries of the Global South agreed in September at the UN General Assembly in New York to create a ‘Friends of Peace’ platform to promote a peaceful resolution of the ‘Ukrainian crisis’. At the time of its launch, 15 countries, including Kazakhstan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Hungary, pledged to participate.
