Slovakia to join Sino-Brazilian "peace initiative" on Ukraine - Fico

That’s according to MFA China’s report following Fico’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

During the talks, Xi and Fico discussed the Russo-Ukrainian war among other issues.

The Chinese leader pointed to Beijing's principled position regarding the "Ukraine crisis" (as the PRC refers to Russia’s genocidal war against Ukraine), which is about promoting a political settlement.

Xi also praised Slovakia's "objective, rational, and fair attitude" to Russia's war against Ukraine, and invited Slovakia and other like-minded nations to work alongside China to promote peace and negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv.

Fico, in turn, praised China, calling Beijing’s stance "fair, objective, and constructive."

He stated that Slovakia would join the "Friends of Peace" platform created at the initiative of China and Brazil in order to promote a political settlement of the conflict.

Fico arrived in Beijing on October 31 for a state visit that will end on November 5. After Fico’s meeting with Xi on November 1, Slovakia and China announced the upgrade of bilateral relations to a strategic partnership.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, in September, during the UN General Assembly in New York, China, Brazil and some other nations agreed to create the "Friends of Peace" platform, within which they plan to promote a peaceful settlement of the "Ukraine crisis".

The exact number of participants in the initiative is currently unclear, but during its presentation, 15 countries announced their participation, including Kazakhstan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Hungary.