Czech President calls for increased pressure on Russia and more assistance to Ukraine
Russia continues to put forward maximalist demands to end the war, so partners must increase pressure on the Kremlin and provide greater support to Kyiv.
Czech President Petr Pavel stated this in an interview with Odkryto, Ukrinform reports.
"Russia has not yet shown much willingness to negotiate or compromise. For now, it is still insisting on its maximalist goals regarding restrictions on Ukraine and its security future, and above all regarding territories. Here it is important, first, to continue putting pressure on Russia - political, financial, economic - while at the same time continuing support for Ukraine so that it does not find itself in a significantly weaker position when entering negotiations," he said.
At the same time, he does not consider the current negotiations meaningless, noting that everything depends on expectations. Expecting a short-term agreement between Ukraine, European states, the United States, and Russia would be naive, Pavel believes. At the same time, he considers it a major achievement that the positions of Ukraine, Europe, and the United States coincide or are already nearly identical.
"What is important is not agreement between Ukraine and its supporters, but reaching an agreement on the terms of a peace deal with the warring party, that is, with Russia," he added.
He noted that history teaches that negotiations can only be successful when both sides are in a relatively favorable position. Otherwise, the side with the advantage will always seek to continue the conflict.
Commenting on the refusal of the new Czech government to guarantee a EUR 90 billion loan from the European Union to Ukraine, the head of state said it was good that the Czech Republic did not join Hungary and Slovakia, which refused to support the provision of the loan altogether.
"I could imagine that we might have supported the guarantee, but I am at least glad that the guarantee was not blocked and that it will provide Ukraine with a loan for normal functioning, because I clearly perceive Ukraine's stability as the stability of the Czech Republic," Pavel said.
As reported, during the December vote on allocating a EUR 90 billion loan to Ukraine for two years (2026-27), to be borrowed by the EU on financial markets, the Czech prime minister supported the idea but stated that the Czech Republic would not act as a guarantor for any of the loans. At the same time, he emphasized that the Czech Republic holds a different position from Hungary and Slovakia, which effectively rejected the Council's conclusions.
Photo: Jiří Valtera/NKS Studio