Czech government has refused Ukraine’s request to purchase light combat aircraft, - Parliamentary Speaker Okamura
Tomio Okamura, leader of the far-right party in Prime Minister Andrej Babiš's ruling coalition, announced that the Czech government had decided not to sell light combat aircraft to Ukraine.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to Bloomberg.
According to him, the purchase of replacements for the L-159 fighter jets for the Ukrainian Air Force will cost Prague more than it will earn from the sale of domestically produced aircraft.
Okamura criticized Kyiv's proposal to purchase aircraft, which Czech President Petr Pavel spoke about last week. Prime Minister Babiš said that a final decision had not yet been made, but the defense minister stressed that the army needed such aircraft.
According to Bloomberg, this decision demonstrates the conflict between President Pavel, a supporter of Ukraine and NATO, and Babiš's government, which takes into account the influence of its far-right coalition partners. At the same time, the Czech government continues to supply ammunition to Ukraine, demonstrating pragmatism in its relations with other EU leaders.
What preceded it?
- During his visit to Kyiv, Czech leader Petr Pavel announced his readiness to transfer combat aircraft to Ukraine for the destruction of Russian drones.
- Subsequently, the Czech Foreign Ministry criticized Pavel's statement regarding the possible supply of aircraft to Ukraine without government approval.
Controversy surrounding Okamura's statements
- The conflict arose after the New Year's speech by Tomio Okamura, Speaker of the House of Representatives, in which he sharply criticized the provision of military aid to Ukraine, opposed its membership in the European Union, and spoke negatively about the Ukrainian government.
- These statements provoked a sharp reaction both in Czech politics and in Ukraine. On January 5, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry invited the Czech chargé d'affaires for talks over Okamura's statements, which Kyiv considered unacceptable.
- The Ukrainian ambassador to Prague, Vasyl Zvarych, publicly criticized the position of the speaker of the Czech parliament. At the same time, Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka said that he did not consider it appropriate for a foreign diplomat to openly assess the statements of one of the country's key constitutional officials.
- In response, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha rejected the Czech criticism and defended the Ukrainian ambassador
