Czech President Pavel Responds to Ukraine’s Rejection of His Comments on Territorial Concessions

Czech President Petr Pavel reacted to Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement rejecting his suggestions of leaving some Ukrainian territories under Russian occupation.

Pavel noted that he didn't say "anything that he hasn't said before," reminding that he already "warned against unrealistic expectations."

This was reported by ČTK, citing Pavel’s commentary to journalists in New York on September 24.

"I never doubted that we should support Ukraine in restoring its territorial integrity, that this is the ultimate goal. We just have to be realistic about the time horizon and the price of achieving this goal," Pavel said.

"Victory over Russia in Ukraine at the cost of destroying half of the Ukrainian population is probably not a victory," the Czech president added.

Previously, in an interview with The New York Times, Pavel suggested that Ukraine may have to accept the possibility of some of its territories remaining under Russian control after the war, describing this as a “temporary” situation.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has rejected suggestions that any post-war settlement could involve leaving parts of Ukrainian territory under Russian control.

“The withdrawal of Russian occupying forces from the sovereign territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders is one of the mandatory points of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula,“ the Ministry wrote.