Babiš does not oppose sending weapons to Ukraine, but not from Czech state budget

Czech opposition leader Andrej Babiš has said his party will not fund weapons for Ukraine from the state budget should it form the next government.

As reported by Czech news agency ČTK, speaking at a press conference on 8 October, Babiš reiterated his position on the ammunition initiative launched by the current Czech government.

"If we are in the government, we will ask Czech arms manufacturers: do you want to export weapons to Ukraine? We don't have a problem with that," Babiš said.

The ANO leader argued that Czechia already contributes "60 billion [in unspecified currency] to the European Union budget", which supports Ukraine.

"We will not give a single koruna [from the state budget – ed.] to Ukraine for weapons. We have no money for Czechia. I think we have helped Ukraine directly, and now assistance will be provided through the EU," he added.

Babiš, the leader of the populist ANO party in Czechia, has previously promised to cancel the ammunition initiative, which helps supply artillery shells to Ukraine.

He, however, has eased his rhetoric in recent statements, suggesting that the initiative should be handled by NATO rather than Prague.

Czech President Petr Pavel said earlier that cutting or ending support for Ukraine through Prague's ammunition supply initiative would ultimately harm Czechia itself.