Czech president: "Undoubtedly naive" to think of swift peace deal on Ukraine

Czech President Petr Pavel believes the end of the war in Ukraine should not be expected in the near future due to Russia's position.

In response to a journalist's question in an interview with Czech outlet Odkryto as to whether he considers negotiations to end the war in Ukraine pointless, Pavel said that everything depends on expectations regarding their outcome.

"If someone expected that it would be possible to reach an agreement between Ukraine, European countries, the United States and Russia in the short term, that was undoubtedly naive. The fact that the positions of Ukraine, Europe and the United States have moved closer together or are already almost aligned is a great success," Pavel said.

Pavel pointed out that the key thing in the negotiation process is whether the warring parties have found common ground. Russia, he said, has not demonstrated any willingness to compromise. To change this, Ukraine's allies must place Moscow in a more disadvantageous position, the Czech president added.

"History teaches us that negotiations can be successful only when both sides are in a relatively favourable position. If that is not the case, the side in the stronger position will always feel the desire to continue the conflict rather than end it," Pavel said, calling for increased economic and political pressure on Russia.

Last week, US President Donald Trump claimed that Russia is willing to conclude a peace deal and urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to "move".

On 16 February, a Ukrainian delegation set off for negotiations with the United States and Russia in Geneva, which are scheduled to take place on 17 and 18 February.

Rustem Umierov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, recently announced the names of the delegates Ukraine plans to send to the talks.

Zelenskyy said he hopes the negotiating process involving the United States and Russia on a potential end to the war will not stall due to changes in the Russian negotiating team, which is headed by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin.