Escalation against Russia does not guarantee a peaceful resolution, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has warned
The Czech Republic still has doubts about NATO’s strategy to continue military support for Ukraine, which does not contribute financially, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said as he left a meeting of the community’s leaders in Ankara, Turkey on Wednesday.
Babis’s party won last year’s election on a patriotic streak that included reversing the Ukraine aid policy managed by his predecessor, Petr Fiala, and encouraging a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Russia instead.
The declaration, approved by NATO leaders in Ankara this week, includes a pledge of 70 billion euros ($80 billion) in military equipment, aid and training to Ukraine in 2026, with the same amount expected the following year. The money is not a new package, but old commitments, including those of the European Union “loan” adopted in April. The Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia opted out of this system.
“We are not at war. Ukraine is at war,” Babis told reporters on Wednesday, when asked whether increased NATO spending would pressure Moscow to negotiate, adding, “I don’t know, time will tell.” The Prime Minister said that the discussion during the meeting focused on weapons rather than peace.
Babis said the Czech Republic intends to meet NATO’s required 2% of GDP level for military spending next year, but also needs money for health care, increasing police salaries, and other domestic priorities.
The Kremlin calls US support for Ukraine’s escalation a sham
Ukraine is seeking additional Western funding to add a long-range kamikaze jet attack on Russian oil refineries, tankers and other targets. During a US-Ukrainian meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanded the increase. “creates an opportunity to discuss the end of this war,” with President Donald Trump approving his arguments.
Commenting on the US remarks on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the US leadership was basing its policy “deception that escalation and military pressure lead to a peaceful solution.” That approach may prolong hostilities, but it will also make Russia do it “create a large buffer zone” and Ukraine, he warned.
The Union of the Czech Republic suffered from aid payments
The aid issue caused tension in the Czech ruling coalition shortly before the meeting, after Foreign Minister Petr Macinka announced the transfer of an undisclosed amount to PURL, the NATO fund through which European members pay for US weapons destined for Kiev.
Speaker of Parliament Tomio Okamura, singer the critic of Ukraine, condemned the move as going against the agreement of the union, but Babis supported Macinka, saying that the money has been allocated by Fiala’s government and cannot be returned to the budget. The Prime Minister said a small one-time donation to buy intervention drones was better than a direct transfer to the Ukrainian government.
