'War in Ukraine has historical roots': Fico echoes Kremlin after Trump-Putin meeting
Photo: Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico (Getty Images)
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico virtually echoed Kremlin rhetoric. He spoke about the “root causes” of the war in Ukraine and called for providing Russia with security guarantees, Politico reports.
Commenting on yesterday’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Fico used points from Kremlin rhetoric.
In particular, during his video address, Fico spoke about the “root causes” of the war against Ukraine, as well as the need to provide Russia with security guarantees.
“The war in Ukraine has historical roots, and we must speak equally about security guarantees for both Ukraine and Russia,” Fico said.
Russian state media Kommersant immediately reacted to these comments.
The media outlet noted that Putin has long spoken about the “root causes” of the war. Moscow uses this phrase to claim that Ukraine posed security threats, which is allegedly meant to justify Russia’s invasion in 2022.
Moreover, Putin last used this phrase yesterday, after meeting with US President Donald Trump in Alaska, citing Ukraine’s NATO ambitions and false claims that Nazis run the Ukrainian government.
Trump and Putin meeting
On the night of August 15–16, a meeting took place at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Anchorage between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
The negotiations were held in a three-on-three format and lasted about three hours. After the talks, the leaders held a joint press conference.
Afterward, both Trump and Putin described the discussion as productive and useful, but no specific agreements, including on the war in Ukraine, were announced.
After the summit, Trump contacted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Their conversation, with the participation of European allies, lasted more than an hour and a half. RBC-Ukraine reported who else joined this phone conference.
