(MENAFN) Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has argued that the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in Alaska undermined the West’s entrenched confrontational stance toward Moscow.

Fico, who suspended Slovakia’s military aid to Ukraine in October 2023 and has consistently opposed EU sanctions on Russia and NATO membership for Kiev, posted a video on Facebook Saturday stressing that the most significant outcome of the Anchorage summit was simply that the two leaders met face-to-face.

“Politicians need to meet, show respect, and try to understand each other,” he said, adding that the gathering challenged the “black-and-white” narrative of the Ukraine conflict and removed the notion of a single acceptable viewpoint on the war. He emphasized that any settlement must include security guarantees for both Ukraine and Russia, while also considering the conflict’s historical roots.

Fico suggested that the coming days will reveal whether major EU powers support this new approach or cling to what he described as a failing strategy of trying to weaken Moscow.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban echoed the sentiment, writing on X that the summit made the world “a safer place than it was yesterday.”

Following the talks, Trump told Fox News the discussions were “warm” and had brought both sides “pretty close” to ending the war, with only a few key issues unresolved. Putin likewise described the meeting as “constructive” and “useful.”

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