Czech Republic criticises President Pavel for comments on supplying aircraft to Ukraine
The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs has criticized President Petro Pavel's statement regarding the possible supply of aircraft to Ukraine without government approval, according to Censor.NET.
This is stated in materials from Ukrinform, citing a speech by Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macejka on Czech television.
During the program, the host drew attention to the words of the Czech president, which he voiced during his visit to Kyiv. He spoke about the possibility of transferring several small aircraft to Ukraine to counter Russian drones, as well as early warning systems and generators.
Position of the Czech Foreign Ministry on the president's statement
The Foreign Ministry representative stressed that the head of state did not consult with the government and coalition partners before making public statements. According to him, such initiatives do not fall within the president's competence and must be agreed upon at the executive level.
"He is not the one who should be talking, promising, or negotiating such things. Making such statements to the media without dialogue with the government is indeed very counterproductive," Macejka said.
Pavel's visit to Ukraine
The Czech Foreign Minister acknowledged that during his visit to Kyiv, the Ukrainian side raised the issue of acquiring aircraft. At the same time, he stressed that he had not made any promises, as this is a sensitive issue for the government coalition and international partners.
Earlier, President Pavel announced that the Czech Republic could transfer aircraft capable of shooting down drones to Ukraine, and also stated that it would supply about half of the ammunition needed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
- We would like to remind you that on January 16, Petr Pavel arrived in Kyiv on a working visit, having previously visited the Lviv region.
