Zelensky should call Putin if he wants a meeting, Fico says after Moscow trip
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Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said on May 10 that President Volodymyr Zelensky should hold a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin if he wants to hold face-to-face talks.
Fico made the remarks a day after his meeting with Putin in Moscow, where he attended Victory Day events.
The Slovak prime minister said that during a personal conversation, Zelensky expressed readiness to meet Putin in any format.
"I conveyed a message from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the president of Russia," Fico said in a video address.
"During our personal meeting in Armenia, (Zelensky) told me that he is ready to meet with Putin in any format. The answer is obvious: if the president of Ukraine is interested in a meeting, he should contact his Russian counterpart by phone."
The Slovak prime minister also supported the extension of a U.S.-backed three-day ceasefire, which has been in effect since May 9 but has already been violated by Russia in a series of attacks on Ukraine on May 10.
"I called the ceasefire absolutely necessary to create space for what is essential — diplomatic efforts, dialogue, negotiations, which are a thousand times more useful than mutual killing," he added.
Fico was the only European Union leader to visit Moscow for Russia's Victory Day celebrations, though he skipped the parade itself. Previously, a Slovak official said Fico could pass along messages from Zelensky to Putin during his meeting with the Russian leader.
However, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov later claimed this didn not happen — though he admitted Fico discussed his recent meetings with Zelensky during his talk with Putin.
Fico's controversial visit to Moscow follows a series of talks with Zelensky, including a face-to-face meeting with the Ukrainian president in Yerevan on May 4. Those meetings, which came not long after the defeat of Kremlin ally Viktor Orban in Hungary, saw Fico take on a warmer tone toward Kyiv after months of mounting tensions.
