If United States forces Ukraine to make concessions to Russia, it will create sense of betrayal among Ukrainians, - Czech Foreign Minister Lipavsky
If the West withdraws its support for Ukraine now, and Russia forces it to take some action, to make concessions without Ukraine's approval, it will create a sense of betrayal among Ukrainians.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said this in an interview with European Pravda, Censor.NET reports.
He spoke in the context of possible US pressure on Ukraine to sit down at the negotiating table with Russia.
In response to a question about whether the Czech diplomat sees a chance that the United States will force Ukraine to surrender, he said that he warns against such a scenario, citing the Munich Agreement as an example.
"What happened in 1938? Adolf Hitler demanded that Czechoslovakia give up the Sudetenland to Germany," Lipavsky said.
The minister noted that there were many statements by Hitler at the time, who promised that the Sudetenland was his "last demand."
"He (Hitler - ed.) was putting pressure on the world. And then the Munich Agreement was signed to give him what he demanded. Czechoslovakia was forced to give Germany the Sudetenland. But nothing stopped there. It was only the beginning. Because the following year, World War II broke out, and Germany attacked Poland," the Czech Foreign Minister said.
Lipavsky emphasized that the fact that appeasement of the aggressor does not work is not the only lesson from this story. Another lesson was that people in Czechoslovakia felt betrayed.
Our partners did not protect us when we expected them to. And if the West now abandons Ukraine, which will be forced by Russia to take some action, to make concessions without the approval of Ukraine itself, it will create a sense of betrayal among Ukrainians. And this is much more dangerous. Such grievances remain not for years, but for decades," the Czech Foreign Minister added.
