Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Prague on Thursday after his visit to Bulgaria (see video above). He is expected in Turkey on Friday. The talks include Ukraine’s possible NATO membership.
The right time has come to show the alliance’s unity and courage, Zelensky said during a press conference with his Czech counterpart Petr Pavel at the upcoming NATO summit. “We need that motivation. We need honesty in our relations.” Pavel advocated that the Ukrainian government begin negotiations to join NATO immediately after the end of the war.
This is in the interest of “security, regional stability and economic prosperity.” The Czech Republic will also ensure that accession negotiations with Ukraine start this year.
Selenskyj thanked Prague for its support by supplying arms and taking in hundreds of thousands of war refugees. The liberal-conservative government in Prague is seen as a staunch supporter of Kiev. She referred to her own negative experiences with the invasion of the Warsaw Pact countries in August 1968 in what was then Czechoslovakia; the last armed forces did not leave the country until 1991.
From January to May 2023 alone, the Czech government provided the Ukrainian army with 24 tanks, 76 armored cars and 16 anti-aircraft vehicles. There was also ammunition and other materials such as spare parts and protective equipment.
Emotional meeting in Bulgaria
After Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, Selenskyj is expected in Turkey on Friday. He will meet with local President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, Turkey’s state news agency Anadolu reported. Among other things, they would talk about the grain agreement between Russia and Ukraine, which expires on July 17.
The short meeting with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev in Bulgaria was emotional. Radev had repeatedly spoken of a “conflict” between Ukraine and Russia, after which Zelenskyi corrected him. “This is not a conflict, but a war that wants to wipe out the Ukrainian people.” Zelenskyj had come over from Moldova, where he was picked up by a Bulgarian government plane.
Source: Krone
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