Petr Pavel is trying to ensure military support for Ukraine regardless of the outcome of future presidential elections - Politico
Kyiv • UNN
Petr Pavel gathered Czech parties to guarantee the continuation of aid to Ukraine, including 1.8 million shells. Despite the opposition's skepticism, the ammunition initiative will not be jeopardized.
Czech President Petr Pavel is doing everything possible to ensure the continuation of military aid to Ukraine, regardless of who comes to power after the elections to be held in October. In particular, we are talking about further deliveries of 1.8 million artillery shells to Kyiv, writes UNN referring to Politico.
Details
Last week, Petr Pavel gathered all Czech political parties for a frank conversation to ensure that the security principles of the Czech Republic are clear to everyone.
The main target was the ANO party, led by former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, which leads in the poll conducted by Politico. ANO has expressed skepticism about further support for Ukraine and especially about the Czech Republic's efforts to supply Kyiv with 1.8 million artillery shells this year.
The main opposition party… is not against the continuation of our ammunition initiative… I think the ammunition initiative will not be jeopardized in any way. They only place a great emphasis on the transparency of the process, which is obviously very justified
ANO Deputy Chairman Karel Havlicek did not deny the guarantees that Petr Pavel said he had received, but stressed that the ammunition agreement was "opaque."
Based on the information we have, it involves inappropriate profit margins, low quality and questionable suppliers. For these reasons, it should be regulated at the NATO level
Pavel's efforts to ensure the continued flow of shells to Kyiv, despite any political turmoil within the country, are part of a broader program to support European security in the face of growing geopolitical tensions caused by fears of Russia and concerns about the US abandoning its security commitments under President Donald Trump.
Despite his strong pro-Ukrainian stance, Petr Pavel said that "frankly, inviting Ukraine to NATO in the short term is unrealistic." At the same time, he stressed that the allies "should not abandon this idea," as Kyiv will strengthen NATO by joining the Alliance.
He also called on Ukraine's allies to continue to put pressure on Russia with tougher economic sanctions.
We must also create much more pressure from an economic point of view, because it is obvious that Russia is in great difficulty
Addition
Czech President Petr Pavel said that the Czech Republic cannot yet talk about deploying its peacekeeping contingent in Ukraine, as no peace agreement has been concluded.