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Slovak Defense Minister urges Ukraine to consider territorial concessions for "war to stop immediately"

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Slovak Defense Minister urges Ukraine to consider territorial concessions for "war to stop immediately"
Slovak Defence and Deputy Prime Minister Robert Kalinak addresses a press conference in Bratislava, Slovakia on May 19, 2024 (Vladimir Simicek/AFP via Getty Images)

Slovak Defense Minister Robert Kalinak said that Ukraine may need to cede some territory due to the realities on the ground, Slovak news agency TASR reported on Dec. 29.

During a television interview, Kalinak claimed that Slovakia’s priority is for an immediate ceasefire and peace negotiations.

While he stated that Russia is undeniably the aggressor in the conflict and has violated international law, he said that post-war stability is more important than its precise borders.

"Ukraine does not realize it will never find itself between Germany and Switzerland, but will always share its longest border with the Russian Federation," he said. “It is important that, above all, people stop dying.”

Under Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's leadership, Slovakia took a sharp foreign policy turn, halting military supplies to Ukraine from the Slovak Armed Forces' stocks and adopting more Russian-friendly rhetoric.

Fico also recently announced he had accepted the Kremlin's invitation to attend the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow next May.

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Sonya Bandouil

North American news editor

Sonya Bandouil is a North American news editor for The Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in the fields of cybersecurity and translating, and she also edited for various journals in NYC. Sonya has a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from New York University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Houston, in Texas.

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