Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is on his way to the Czech Republic today after his visit to Bulgaria. The 45-year-old wrote on Twitter that he would conduct “substantial negotiations” with President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Petr Fiala, among others.
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The subject of the Prague talks will be continued support for Ukraine, which has resisted the Russian invasion for nearly a year and a half. It’s also about the upcoming NATO summit and post-war reconstruction.
“Ukraine expects a clear signal from NATO”
Former NATO general Pavel visited Kiev in April with his Slovak counterpart Zuzana Caputova. He has been ahead of the Czech Republic, a member of the EU and NATO, since the beginning of March. Zelenskyy’s visit comes just before the NATO summit in Vilnius on 11-12 July. “Ukraine expects a clear signal from NATO,” recently emphasized Czech Prime Minister Fiala. As much support as possible should be sought – including the prospect of membership for the future.
The Czech Republic’s liberal-conservative government is seen as a firm supporter of Kiev. In Prague, people refer to their own negative experiences with the Warsaw Pact invasion in August 1968 in what was then Czechoslovakia. The last Soviet soldiers left the country in 1991.
From January to May of this year alone, the Czech government provided 24 tanks, 76 armored vehicles and 16 anti-aircraft vehicles to Ukraine, according to previous information. In addition, there are 57,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and other materials such as spare parts and protective equipment against nuclear, biological and chemical hazards.
Meeting expected with Erdogan
Zelenskyy is also expected in Türkiye tomorrow. Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported that he would meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul. Initially, there was no confirmation from the Ukrainian side. According to Anadolu, the meeting will address, among other issues, the grain agreement, which ends on July 17.
Zelenskyy had already visited Sofia at the invitation of the Bulgarian government. He and Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov agreed on more support for Ukraine. With its traditionally strong defense industry, Bulgaria is considered a major arms supplier to Ukraine. Therefore, more support was the focus of the visit. During his visit, Zelenskyi also met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev.