Europe, US must pressure Zelenskyy and Putin into talks, Czech PM says
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (photo: Getty Images)
An agreement to end Russia's war against Ukraine must be reached for the sake of European security. The leaders of the countries must be forced to sit down at the negotiating table, according to a statement by Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš at the Prague Defence Summit.
Babiš calls for talks
Czech premier says Europe and the United States must end the war diplomatically. Otherwise, Russia's war against Ukraine could lead to World War III.
"We must stop this war. It is clear that Putin is the aggressor; he is truly doing something unacceptable... Europe, together with the United States, must force both President Zelenskyy and President Putin to sit down at the negotiating table. Diplomacy is not weakness. It is the only way forward," he said.
Babiš believes that US President Donald Trump is sending a clear signal: this war is primarily a European problem.
But Europe, PM says, is "painfully passive, completely unable or unwilling to act."
Minister Babiš noted that Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine has lasted 99 days longer than World War I. Countries around the world must prevent a global conflict.
"We need strong European leadership that will act... The price of our current hesitation is devastating... I am not afraid to say this out loud: the path the world is taking right now does not lead to security. It leads straight to the gates of hell. It is taking us to World War III," he said.
As previously reported, Babiš backed President Zelenskyy's idea of creating a joint European air defense system, which would strengthen Europe's contribution to NATO.
In addition, Ukraine has created a new cooperation format called the Carpathian 8 (C8). It is designed to strengthen cooperation among countries in the region on security, energy, and economic issues. The Czech Republic is also part of the C8.
