Europe has realized that it must talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the conflict in Ukraine, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said.

“Dear friends, hallelujah! The whole world, and finally Europe, has realized that if we want to end the war in Ukraine, we must talk to Russian President Putin. We have been saying this since the very beginning of the war. So, we are a little further along [in understanding the situation in Ukraine] than other countries,” Fico said in a video address to his fellow citizens on Facebook, which is banned in Russia.