Prime Minister Golob: "It is important that ceasefire is followed by negotiations on lasting peace"

SLOVENIA, March 27 - Ahead of the meeting, Prime Minister Golob stressed the importance of continued efforts to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine. "As a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Slovenia has a special responsibility to do everything possible to achieve lasting peace in Ukraine. This makes our participation in Paris all the more important," he observed. 

At the informal meeting, which was also attended by Ukrainian President Zelensky, leaders reaffirmed their continued support for Ukraine in the framework of the "Coalition for Peace".

After the meeting, Prime Minister Golob underlined that today in Paris, leaders confirmed their determination to find a path to lasting peace in Ukraine. "We were unanimous that we must give peace a real chance", the Prime Minister said. "Slovenia will advocate at all levels that a ceasefire must be reached as soon as possible, that bloodshed must stop and that the conditions for a lasting peace must be created," concluded Prime Minister Golob. 

Today's meeting of most European Union members and key NATO partners (UK, Norway, Iceland, Turkey, Canada) is a new opportunity for like-minded partners to exchange views on the current situation in Ukraine, on the ongoing negotiations in Saudi Arabia and on Europe's role in continuing to support Ukraine towards a lasting peace as soon as possible. "The negotiating teams in Saudi Arabia have made some progress. I hope that the talks will continue in this spirit," mentioned Prime Minister Golob ahead of the meeting.

As the Prime Minister made clear on several occasions, Slovenia does not and will not participate in any coalition of the willing. However, should organisation such as the United Nations Organization take over coordination, Slovenia will seriously consider participating in peacekeeping, as the role and mandate of the United Nations Organization are always clearly and democratically defined.