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Czech President Petr Pavel has cautioned EU countries against overconfidence and competing with each other, and instead urged the West to present a united front against Russia and China.
Speaking on Tuesday at a debate hosted by the German Council for Foreign Relations, the Czech leader called on EU states to adhere to “Western values” and prioritize cooperation and unity, not only to oppose Moscow, but also to counter Beijing’s growing influence.
Pavel, a retired general who previously served as chief of the NATO Military Committee, also advocated continued support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, and claimed that this year will be crucial in determining the outcome of the hostilities.
Pavel predicted that neither Russia nor Ukraine will have the capacity for further offensives beyond 2023, which is why he believes a rapid supply of weapons to Ukrainian forces is in Europe’s interest.
However, the Czech leader admitted in an interview with German news outlet Suddeutsche Zeitung that his country has depleted its capabilities of supplying Kiev with weapons. “The Czech Republic helped Ukraine with the supply of weapons as best it could, but it no longer has the capacity to do so,” said the president.
Pavel claimed that the Czech Republic still has certain capabilities in the areas of air defense and the production of ammunition. However, he noted that the latter has become problematic due to a lack of labor, and suggested that a solution could be inviting workers from Ukraine to man the factories.
The Czech Republic has emerged as one of Kiev’s most active supporters in the conflict with Russia. Pavel has headed the Czech government since January 2023, and has repeatedly advocated unlimited military aid for Ukraine, while backing Kiev’s NATO aspirations.
Pavel has stated that he would like to see Russia weakened so that Moscow pursues “cooperation, not aggression.” He has also asserted that only a change of the “Russian regime from within” would allow the EU to return to business as usual in its relations with Moscow.
NATO member admits it has exhausted all means of arming Ukraine
The Czech Republic has already done everything it can to help Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, President Petr Pavel has said. The nation’s capacity to produce more ammunition is limited due to workforce shortages, he added.
“We have not only delivered what we could from our own stocks, but also bought material abroad,” Pavel said in an interview with Germany’s Suddeutsche Zeitung on Wednesday.
The Czech Republic is still capable of producing some air defenses and ammunition that Ukraine needs, but it’s “limited by the shortage of workforce,” he said.
“We have one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe. Workers are hard to come by. But there are opportunities, for example, through [bringing in] workers from Ukraine,” explained Pavel, who was inaugurated as president on March 9.
He suggested that this year would be “decisive” for the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine.
The Czech president, who has a background in intelligence and served as chairman of the NATO Military Committee between 2015 and 2018, warned that Western support for Kiev “will diminish over time” due to so-called “war fatigue.”
There will be a presidential election in the US in 2024, which will see the focus of American voters switch from foreign to domestic affairs, he said.
“It is virtually impossible for the Europeans alone to maintain the current level of support for Ukraine. If US support weakens, so does the support of a number of European states,” the 61-year-old suggested.
Ukraine has to take this into account when it plans its next moves on the battlefield, because “next year, it’ll probably be unable to start any large and elaborate operation,” Pavel said.
According to the Czech Defense Ministry, the country has provided Kiev with €2.3 billion ($2.5 billion) worth of arms during the conflict. Prague does not disclose the types of weapons supplied due to what it calls security and tactical concerns.
Russia has on numerous occasions criticized deliveries of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine from the West, arguing that they only serve to escalate and prolong fighting without changing the ultimate outcome. According to Moscow, arms shipments, intelligence sharing and training provided to Kiev’s troops have already made Western nations de facto parties to the conflict.
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