Czech PM says Trump has let Europe down with deal with Putin

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has criticised US President Donald Trump's deal with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin concerning diesel fuel.

As reported by Czech news website Novinky, Babiš said Trump has let Europe down and that Europe should take a more active role.

"I think we all want peace. I'm not saying that peace means accepting some Russian ideas," he added, without putting forward any other proposals.

"The fact is that the war is continuing, Europe is being left on the sidelines, and Trump has effectively let us down by striking this deal with Putin, so we have to do something," the Czech prime minister said.

Babiš had previously described the US president's decision as a "slap in the face".

"This is a huge slap in the face for Europe," Babiš said of Trump's deal with Russia.

"This war is a bad thing; winter is coming; I'm curious to see what Europe's main leaders will come up with," the Czech prime minister concluded. He believes that support for Ukraine should be provided in the form of a loan and should not be included in the EU budget.

The US wants to ease sanctions against Russia's shadow fleet. Trump's actions, including the diesel deal with Russia, have also drawn criticism in the United States. On 12 October, twelve US senators wrote to Trump saying that his deal with Putin amounts to a "betrayal of the people of Ukraine".

Meanwhile, EU leaders have publicly assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that sanctions against Russia will under no circumstances be eased.