The President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, does not rule out Ukraine's accession to NATO, even under the conditions of Russia's occupation of part of the Ukrainian territories.
Points of attention
- The President of the Czech Republic does not rule out Ukraine's accession to NATO even in the face of Russian aggression and occupation of Ukrainian territories.
- Petr Pavel emphasizes the importance of Ukraine and Russia reaching agreements to end the conflict as a possible step towards Ukraine joining NATO.
- The Czech Republic firmly believes that changing international borders through aggression is unacceptable and violates international law.
- Pavel highlights historical precedents, like Germany's division, to suggest that there are technical and legal solutions for Ukraine to join NATO without escalating conflicts with Russia.
- The eventual peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow, with the involvement of key international partners, are seen as crucial for resolving the Ukrainian crisis and potentially paving the way for NATO membership.
Will Ukraine be able to become a member of NATO in the conditions of Russia's occupation of part of the territories
Pavel said that he expects to reach agreements between Ukraine and Russia to end the criminal war unleashed by the Kremlin in the coming years.
Such an agreement would secure for the aggressor country the occupation of part of the Ukrainian territories, but without the recognition of Russian sovereignty over them by Western states.
I do not think that the complete restoration of control over the entire territory is a necessary condition. If there is a demarcation, even of the administrative border, then we can consider this administrative border as temporary and accept Ukraine into NATO on the territory it will control at that time, - explains Pavel.
The President of the Czech Republic emphasized that Germany was once divided, but despite this, West Germany was a member of NATO.
Therefore, I think that there is a solution, both technical and legal, to allow Ukraine to join NATO without involving NATO in a conflict with the Russian Federation, - noted Pavel.
How Pavel sees the likely end of the war and Ukraine's accession to NATO
In his opinion, this is possible after Kyiv and Moscow go to negotiations, realizing that the war cannot continue.
The USA, China and the European Union should make a significant contribution to this.
If there are any peace talks, then, most likely, it will be about the fact that Russia occupied part of the Ukrainian territory for a long time. From the point of view of democratic countries that claim to respect international law and the UN Charter, we must respect the agreements between the warring parties, but we will not accept the change of international borders based on aggression, - Pavel stressed.
