Only Ukraine currently shows willingness for peace, says Czech president

He stated this at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

 Pavel said he wished resilience to Zelensky and to the entire Ukrainian people amid the current difficult circumstances.

He expressed confidence that the efforts personally undertaken by Zelensky would soon lead to a unified position between the United States and Europe in joint peace negotiations and would make it possible to exert coordinated pressure on Russia, eventually compelling it to enter talks. At present, he said, this willingness could be seen only on Ukraine's side, while Russia had not shown even initial signs of such intent.

Pavel added that continued support for Ukraine must go hand in hand with sustained economic pressure on Russia. He said he could not imagine the conflict continuing, as it was producing not only catastrophic consequences but also consuming enormous amounts of resources and energy that could instead be directed toward better purposes, such as reconstruction or a normal way of life that people would like to live together.

Photo: Petr Pavel / Facebook