Czech president: Ukraine peace deal likely to leave Crimea with Russia
According to the President of the Czech Republic, the future peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine "will probably not be fair." Petr Pavel assessed that Moscow would not agree to give up Crimea or pay Ukraine reparations. The politician called such expectations "fantasies."
12:02 PM EDT, August 22, 2024
- A just peace, if we were to imagine it on a scale from 100 percent to nothing, would mean the restoration of Ukraine's full control over its territory, including Crimea. It would require that the aggressor pay compensation for war damages. But that's probably a fantasy, we can all agree - Pavel said in a podcast on the Novinky.cz portal.
He also added that a "fair peace" would mean compensation for war damage. "In reality, the outcome will be slightly different. [But] our objective should be to get as close as possible to a just peace," he emphasized.
According to the Czech President, the United States, together with China, the European Union, and democratic countries, should put pressure on Ukraine and Russia to negotiate peace.
Ukraine in NATO? The President of the Czech Republic has spoken
Pavel also commented on the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region. According to the politician, the most probable goal of Kyiv is to gain arguments for later negotiations with Russia.
The Czech President further assessed that Ukraine should have the opportunity to join NATO, even if it does not regain control over its entire territory.
- If some administrative border is drawn, we can consider this administrative border as temporary and accept Ukraine into NATO on the territory it will control at that time - concluded the president.
