Nato member tells Ukraine to ‘compromise and surrender territory’ to Russia | World News
Ukraine has been told to make a ‘painful compromise’ and surrender some of its territory to Russia.
Robert Fico, prime minister of Slovakia – a member of Nato, said that the only way out of the war is for Volodymyr Zelensky to give up the captured land.
‘There has to be some kind of compromise,’ the PM told public broadcaster RTVS on Saturday, according to media reports.
‘What do they expect, that the Russians will leave Crimea, Donbas and Luhansk? That is unrealistic.’
The politician – who has been blasted as ‘another one of Vladimir Putin’s puppets’ since his comments – also reiterated his opposition to a future Nato membership for Ukraine.
He stressed it would ‘merely be a basis for World War III’, adding that he plans to block the country’s accession to the alliance.
‘Ukraine is not an independent and sovereign country,’ Fico added, but ‘under the total influence and control of the United States’.
He is due to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal in the Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod, on the border with Slovakia – but this may not happen amid his controversial remarks.
‘I will confirm that he will not receive any weapons from the Slovak government,’ he said.
The Slovak PM, whose party won the 2023 elections on the promise that it will stop to send weapons to Ukraine, also accused Zelensky’s government of being one of the most corrupt.
The reaction from Ukraine has been huge. MP Oleksiy Goncharenko said in a post on X that his country would never give up its territory.
He added: ‘I suggest that the Slovak prime minister watch less Russian TV.’
Lawmaker Oleksandr Merezhko called for Fico’s visit to Ukraine to be cancelled and stressed this is a ‘red line’.
While Merezhko did not specify which foreign politician was referring to, his post came immediately after the anti-Ukrainian comments.
He added: ‘Every state should have some minimum of self-respect. It is absolutely unacceptable to pretend that nothing is happening when the leader of another state makes statements that question the sovereignty of a state.
‘This is already the “red line” that demands a decisive and unambiguous reaction, especially when the leader of another state makes such disgraceful statements on the eve of a visit to a state whose sovereignty he denies.
‘Usually in such cases, the visits are canceled, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs makes a relevant statement aimed at protecting the sovereignty and honor of their state.’
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