Czech President Petr Pavel says it is impossible to negotiate the deployment of international military forces in Ukraine until a peace agreement is reached.
He said this at a press conference following talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in Prague, answering a question from an Ukrinform correspondent.
“Regarding the deployment of international forces on the territory of Ukraine, we cannot talk about it until a peace agreement is reached,” the president said.
He said that there are currently no specific talks on what military forces and formations could be deployed on the territory of Ukraine.
“We are still far from this,” the Czech leader admitted.
He emphasized that Ukraine is a sovereign state that may give permission to deploy a contingent on its territory after peace is established. Now it is about what those who have the will can help the nation to this end.
“We are talking about the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, about guarantees that can be either political ones or a combination,” the head of state said, expressing the opinion that it is “a combination of political, diplomatic, economic, and military guarantees” that can be a sufficient guarantee for Ukraine after a peace agreement is sealed.
Pavel also commented on Vladimir Putin’s proposal for a three-day “truce”. “There is no point in declaring a truce for 1-2-3 days, it is impossible to ensure peace negotiations in such a short period,” the Czech president said.
According to the Czech leader, what’s important is not who declares a truce, but who can adhere to it. He also recalled that Ukraine proposed a 30-day truce without preconditions. Russia, on the other hand, only declared its desire for negotiations, while the only one who holds all the cards to end the war is Vladimir Putin, the Czech leader emphasized.
As reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting Prague on May 4-5.
Source: Specific talks on deploying troops in Ukraine not currently underway - Czech president
