Babiš to examine situation with ammunition initiative for Ukraine
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš promises to carefully consider the ammunition initiative for Ukraine and other projects of the Ministry of Defense and plans to comment on issues related to external security on his own in the future.
The head of government said this in an interview with Denik, Ukrinform reports.
Babiš claims that he first learned about the details of the ammunition initiative at a meeting with the director of the Intergovernmental Defense Cooperation Agency on December 22, and that the issue will be discussed at a meeting of the State Security Council on January 7.
“Perhaps this [initiative] is a good thing, but I want to make sure that it is done transparently and that there is no corruption. And that no one is exploiting the war at the expense of Ukraine and allied budgets. In any case, the most important thing is to end the conflict,” the prime minister said.
He also announced plans to review the contract for the purchase of F-35 fighter jets, noting that this needs to be evaluated.
“To be clear, I am the guarantor of foreign and security policy, so I will review the contract for the fighter jets and form an opinion on whether it is beneficial for us. After reading it, I will inform my coalition partners of my opinion and say whether we will try to adjust it or change it in some way,” the politician said.
Thus, Babiš questioned the projects initiated by the previous government.
He also touched on the awkward situation that arose between the leader of the Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party, Speaker of the Lower House Tomio Okamura, and SPD member, Defense Minister Jaromír Zuna.
"I think Mr. Okamura put Zuna in a bad light and explained to him that these are coalition matters. Minister Zuna should focus primarily on recruiting soldiers, providing them with good salaries and benefits, and taking care of their housing. He should visit all the garrisons, look at state-owned arms manufacturers and, above all, at contracts worth 450 billion," the head of government outlined the powers of one of his ministers.
The ruling coalition agreed that Zuna would speak exclusively on matters concerning the army and its security, while the prime minister would announce the government's position on foreign affairs, including Ukraine.
As reported by Ukrinform, Zuna said during his first meeting with journalists in mid-December that he considers it appropriate to continue the ammunition initiative and plans to visit Ukraine soon. A few days later, Okamura held a meeting with his faction in parliament, after which he stated that Zuna had not accepted the invitation of his Ukrainian colleague and that the Ministry of Defense should submit documents on terminating its participation in the ammunition initiative, as the SPD rejects the financing of arms purchases for Ukraine from the Czech budget. Okamura also refuted Zuna's statement about plans to fulfill the contract for the purchase of F-35s.
The authorities plan to consider the ammunition initiative at a meeting of the State Security Council on January 7.