Ukraine unlikely to liberate occupied territories — Czech President
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Ukraine’s declared aim of liberating all Russia-occupied territories by military means is “naïve,” Czech President Petr Pavel said on May 15, as reported by Ceske Noviny news agency.
Pavel suggested that the war needs to be stopped first, with Ukraine’s control over its sovereign territory to be settled in a future agreement.
“I think it would be naive to say that Ukraine can regain its occupied territories in the foreseeable future,” said Pavel.
“Russia will not simply hand them over. The war must be stopped, and then we can start discussing the future order.”
Pavel added that a possible compromise could be reached "with the consent of Ukraine, Russia, and the countries that will guarantee this agreement."
Read also: NATO support work in Ukraine possible, in line with international rules, says Czech President Pavel
At the same time, he reiterated the necessity of supporting Ukraine by all means in accordance with international law.
"This legitimate support includes increasing the supplies of ammunition and military equipment to Ukraine, among other things through the Czech ammunition initiative," the president wrote in a Twitter post.
Pavel added that Russia could end the war at any time but is not interested in doing so, aiming instead to achieve its goals of capturing Ukraine and removing its democratically elected government.
However, Western military support for Ukraine does not exclude the search for a solution to end the conflict, according to him.
“On the contrary, it must happen simultaneously so that even Russia understands there is no military solution,” Pavel said.
“At the same time, it must be true that any future peace agreement necessarily involves Ukraine's consent, considering its fundamental interests.”
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
