Trump pushes for Putin deal to end war against Ukraine's interests, Czech President says
Photo: Petr Pavel, President of the Czech Republic (Getty Images)
The winner of the US presidential election, Donald Trump, may attempt to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war against Ukraine. However, such an agreement would likely not be in the best interests of Europe or Ukraine, according to Czech President Petr Pavel.
The Czech leader, during his speech at the opening of the IISS Prague Defence Summit in Prague on Friday, noted that Western support for Ukraine had been insufficiently swift, allowing Russian forces to make advances.
"My view is probably less politically correct, but I would say it anyway. From the very beginning, we were not doing enough. Only a handful of nations and I’m proud that the Czech Republic was one of them. We are providing Ukraine with everything it needs and everything that we can give them. But the start of the military support was quite slow, and I can frankly say that this slow support allowed Russia to proceed into Ukrainian territory despite all the problems in command logistics that they had at that time," Pavel said.
According to Pavel, Western supplies of military equipment and financial assistance were insufficient for Ukraine to secure victory.
The Czech president added that the situation on the frontlines has reached "a kind of a stalemate," but now it is "turning slightly better for Russia than for Ukraine."
"And in this situation, it’s difficult to motivate either side to negotiate," the Czech leader noted.
Pavel explained that many countries are waiting for the US administration to change and hope that Trump "would deliver the changes" he promised when he said he could end the war with Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours.
However, Pavel does not believe this is possible. Furthermore, the Czech president thinks Trump will try to end the war and strike a deal with Putin.
However, according to the Czech leader, such an agreement "will most probably not be in our (Europe –ed.) interest nor in the interest of Ukraine to have such a deal. Because it’s simply giving Russia a part of the occupied territories, saying to Ukraine that they will not become members of NATO for at least 20 years."
Pavel added that any peace agreement, even if it leads to temporary concessions of some Russian-held territories before reaching a diplomatic solution in the future, should be negotiated with multiple parties, including China, India, and Europe.
Trump's position on the Russia-Ukraine war
In early September, Donald Trump, while running for president, claimed that if he won the election and became president, he would call both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and an agreement would be reached within 24 hours.
Additionally, that same month, Trump met with Zelenskyy, and the Ukrainian president presented him with his plan for victory.
Following their talks, Trump said he wants a "fair deal for all."
It is worth noting that, at this point, it is difficult to predict what position Trump will take on the issue of the Russia-Ukraine war after his inauguration.
