If Putin wins in Ukraine, we all lose, warns Czech leader
Photo: Czech President Petr Pavel (president.gov.ua)
A Russian victory in the war against Ukraine would be a defeat for the entire West, Czech President Petr Pavel said in an interview with The Sunday Times.
Pavel compared the West's current behavior to the policy of appeasement prior to World War II.
According to him, recent reports of secret negotiations between the US and Russia, including discussions about transferring Ukrainian territories, dangerously echo the 1938 Munich Agreement.
"If we allow Russia to come out of this conflict as a victor, we have all lost," the Czech president emphasized.
He drew a historical parallel between the Nazi exploitation of the German minority in the Sudetenland and the Russian narrative of "protecting Russians."
"The same narrative is used by Vladimir Putin," he said.
Pavel is confident that the West is not betraying Ukraine as it once betrayed Czechoslovakia, but he argued it is demonstrating an "reluctance to protect the principles we all claim to protect."
At the same time, Pavel acknowledged that after the war, Europe will need a new security treaty with Moscow — similar to the 1975 Helsinki Accords — but only once Russia recognizes the territorial sovereignty of all states and agrees to limit its aggressive actions.
"We simply cannot let Ukraine to lose," he stressed.
European support for Ukraine
On Monday, December 8, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to London to meet with European leaders — the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz — to discuss key issues of international coordination and support for Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron emphasized that unity between Europe and the US is critical for establishing peace between Ukraine and Russia, noting that there is no mistrust among allies and that joint work must continue.
