In order to reach an agreement to end the war, Ukraine will probably have to give up territory, even if that would violate international law, said Czech President Petr Pavel in an interview published by the CTK news agency on Thursday.
“The surrender of territory would reflect the situation on the battlefield and represent the lesser evil, as opposed to continuing the war, which would result in numerous new casualties and material losses,” said the Czech leader.
He also acknowledged this may only end up being a temporary agreement.
“If peacekeeping forces were to be deployed to Ukraine under such a “temporary” agreement, the Czech Republic should also participate, because it has been an active participant in the peace process from the beginning,” he added.
“This would be more or less an acknowledgement of reality, because Russia has some regions firmly under its control. If we recognize that they are temporarily occupied, then we should call them that, and not Russian territories,” Pavel added.
According to the Czech president, any agreement regarding possible territorial changes is solely the right of Ukraine and Russia.
“I don’t dare to give an opinion on what the agreement on the territories should look like, this is really only a matter for Ukraine and Russia. It would not be good to give advice on what to hand over and what to leave. This is clearly outside our jurisdiction and competence,” the president explained.
Pavel believes that Western sanctions against Russia should have been more decisive and stronger from the beginning, which would have helped Ukraine defend itself more effectively, reducing human and material losses.
Hellbound and Down 