Ukraine's Zelenskiy wins Czech backing on tour to win support for NATO
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[July 07, 2023]
By Robert Muller
PRAGUE (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy won strong
backing from the Czech Republic on Friday on a tour of several NATO
states to drum up support for Kyiv's bid to join the military alliance.
Days before a NATO summit, Zelenskiy, in Prague after visiting Bulgaria
and before heading to Turkey, made a new call for long-range weapons
from Kyiv's allies including the United States to help defeat Russian
forces waging war on Ukraine.
NATO, which meets in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius from July 11-12, is
divided over how fast Kyiv should join because of concerns over any move
that might take the alliance closer to war with Russia.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said his country would welcome Ukraine
joining the European Union, and that it supported its accession to NATO
"as soon as the war is over".
"I am convinced that the future of Ukraine is in the European Union, the
future of Ukraine is in NATO, and this will ensure that a situation like
the one we are experiencing in Europe will not happen again. The Czech
Republic is ready to be of maximum assistance," Fiala told a joint press
conference.
"I hope, I believe, that President Zelenskiy will be able to attend the
summit in Vilnius in person, and I expect that all the allies in the
North Atlantic Alliance will clearly support Ukraine in its aspirations
for membership, and the president can certainly count on the vote of the
Czech Republic."
The Czech Republic has been a strong backer of Kyiv by providing
military aid and other help, and Fiala promised more attack helicopters
and hundreds of thousands more large-calibre ammunition rounds.
Zelenskiy welcomed the "new, powerful, very timely defence package" but
said more weapons were needed as Kyiv tries to push Russian forces who
still occupy swathes of territory after launching a full-scale invasion
in February 2022.
"Without long-range weapons it is difficult not only to carry out an
offensive mission but also to conduct a defensive operation," said
Zelenskiy, who wore his trademark military khaki top and trousers.
"First of all, we are talking about long-range systems with the United
States and it depends only on them today."
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Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy
and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visit the Velvet Revolution
Memorial in Prague, Czech Republic, July 7, 2023. Ukrainian
Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS
Kyiv says it has taken back a cluster of villages in southern
Ukraine since launching the counteroffensive early last month, but
has said repeatedly that it lacks the firepower and air cover to
make faster progress.
TALKS IN TURKEY
Zelenskiy arrived in Prague on Thursday, escorted by two Czech Air
Force jets, after holding talks in NATO and EU member state
Bulgaria, where he said he had secured Sofia's backing to join the
military alliance "as soon as conditions allow".
Zelenskiy has acknowledged that Kyiv is unlikely to be able to join
NATO while it is at war, but says Ukraine needs more than a general
statement that the door to membership is open.
"We are talking about a clear signal, some concrete things in the
direction of an invitation," he said on Thursday after talks with
Czech President Petr Pavel.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has cited NATO's expansion towards
Russia's borders over the past two decades as a key reason for his
decision to send tens of thousands of troops into neighbouring
Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
He has threatened unspecified action if Ukraine joins NATO.
Zelenskiy will travel on to NATO member Turkey on Friday for talks
with President Tayyip Erdogan which Turkish officials said would
cover the potential extension of a wartime grain deal allowing the
safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea.
Russia, angry about aspects of the grain deal's implementation, has
threatened not to allow its further extension beyond July 17.
(Additional reporting by Jason Hovet and by Pavel Polityuk and Olena
Harmash in Kyiv, Writing by Timothy Heritage, Editing by Philippa
Fletcher)
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