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- In the progress of the dialogue: Slovakia urged the EU to become more actively involved in negotiations on Ukraine
In the progress of the dialogue: Slovakia urged the EU to become more actively involved in negotiations on Ukraine
Slovakia supports the appointment of a representative of the European Union on the Ukrainian settlement, Foreign Minister of the Republic Juraj Blanar told Izvestia. According to him, a candidate for this role should be acceptable both to the parties to the conflict and to states actively involved in peace initiatives. Bratislava believes that it is important for the EU to play a more active role in the peace process and dialogue with Russia. Among the potential negotiators in the media are the President of Finland and the Prime Minister of Norway, who called Vladimir Putin this week. However, they contacted Moscow on behalf of their countries, not the entire EU. This inconsistency at the pan-European level has already provoked a sharp reaction from some States.
Dialogue between Russia and Europe
Trilateral consultations between Russia, the United States and Ukraine may resume next month. The meeting is expected to take place in Abu Dhabi after November 4, although the exact date has not yet been determined. This round of negotiations will be the first after a long pause. Russian Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov has already described the upcoming contacts as "targeted."
Against the background of the new agreements, European diplomacy has noticeably intensified. On October 28, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stere held telephone talks with Vladimir Putin. And earlier this week, Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar arrived in Moscow. He took part in the first meeting of the intergovernmental commission in five years, and then held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. The central topic of these contacts was the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis.
At the same time, the European Union is considering the possibility of appointing a special representative who would conduct a dialogue with the Russian Federation on behalf of the entire organization. No specific decisions have been made yet, although a number of countries are calling on the EU to become more actively involved in the negotiation process. One of them is Slovakia.
— Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the current Government of the Slovak Republic has maintained the position that there is no military solution to this conflict, and lasting peace is impossible without a diplomatic dialogue involving all parties. At the same time, we consider it important that the European Union plays a more active role in the peace process and in dialogue with the Russian Federation if it wants to preserve its natural position and defend its own interests, including the vision of a pan—European security architecture," Foreign Minister Juraj Blanard told Izvestia.
According to him, "the sooner negotiations begin, the sooner it will be possible to prevent further human suffering and destruction."
— Therefore, the discussion of the participation of the EU representative in the peace negotiations, in our opinion, is quite appropriate. We fully support this idea and have been advocating for it from the very beginning. We support a candidate who will be acceptable both to the parties to the conflict and to states that actively promote peace efforts," he added.
Russia will positively accept the appointment of a negotiator from the European Union if he really strives for peace, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. According to Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, it is necessary to talk with Europe, since the EU actively supports Kiev in the fight against Russia. "It's not enough to talk only with Kiev, we need to talk with the whole of Europe, which fully supports Kiev, and maybe Europe's position here is of such a key nature," he said.
The British newspaper The Telegraph, citing sources, revealed a shortlist of candidates for the role of a single negotiator from the EU. The list includes five current European leaders: Alexander Stubb, Jonas Gahr Stere, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni and Czech President Peter Pavel. Although later there were refutations of this information in the media.
It is worth noting that the media also spread information about the readiness of former Chancellor Angela Merkel to take on the role of a negotiator, although she did not confirm this in the end. Vladimir Putin previously stated that a representative from the EU should speak, who did not allow himself "any nasty things about us." At the same time, he named former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder as his preferred candidate.
Can negotiations on Ukraine take place in Slovakia
The key obstacle for Brussels remains the lack of a unified position on the Ukrainian crisis. In this situation, the EU, as MEP Fernand Kartheiser previously told Izvestia, is considering an alternative scenario.: Instead of one special representative, a whole group of negotiators can be formed.
The contradictions within the EU clearly manifested themselves immediately after the Helsinki and Oslo talks with Moscow, when Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen criticized her colleagues for calling the Russian leader because they had not coordinated them at the pan-European level. In response, Norway's largest newspaper Aftenposten published an article titled "Shut up, Mette!" Politico also writes that Europe is unhappy with Stubb and Stera's call to Putin. According to an unnamed official, negotiations between individual states and the Russian side violate the united voice of Europe.
Russian President Vladimir Putin
At the same time, there is no complete unity on the Ukrainian crisis in Europe. If, for example, the Baltic countries traditionally advocate radical rhetoric, Slovakia or Bulgaria take a different side and refuse to supply weapons to Kiev. Moreover, Bratislava is even ready to join the negotiation process and host the conflicting parties on its territory.
— In the past, our government, represented by Prime Minister Robert Fico, during his talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, proposed Bratislava as a venue for peace talks or preparatory meetings at a lower level. This proposal remains in force, and I repeated it during my working visit to Moscow during bilateral talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov," Yuri Blanar told Izvestia.
However, according to Mikhail Vedernikov, a leading researcher at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Slovakia is unlikely to be able to become a venue for negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement. The main reason is its membership in NATO and the EU, which are unfriendly towards Russia, he believes. Vadim Trukhachev, an associate professor at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, is confident that the EU will not allow the event to be held in Bratislava in order not to allow the inconvenient Prime Minister Fico to score political points ahead of the elections scheduled for 2027.
On the other hand, if the European Union and the capitals of European countries adopt a more pragmatic course, the situation may change dramatically. There have already been similar precedents in history: if direct contacts between leaders seemed impossible during the Joe Biden administration, then under Donald Trump they became a reality and the Russian leader even visited Alaska. In the event of a geopolitical reset at the European level, Slovakia can become the optimal compromise platform, especially since Vladimir Putin, after talks with Robert Fico in 2024, declared Moscow's readiness to consider Bratislava as a meeting place.
The very act of resuming contacts between representatives of Russia and European countries is extremely important. It is noteworthy that the dialogue with Moscow is beginning to be conducted not only by states that adhere to a balanced course, but also by parties that actively support Kiev, such as Finland and Norway. At the same time, Moscow, Helsinki and Oslo have officially agreed to continue this dialogue. The appointment of a single negotiator or an entire group of mediators could be an important step towards normalizing relations between the European Union and Moscow. This will create a legitimate communication channel. So far, official Brussels has communicated with Moscow mainly through public mutual accusations and sanctions packages. In addition, the presence of a single representative will force European countries with polar positions to come to some common denominator.
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