Pavel was elected President at the beginning of 2023. Credit: Jan Kriz, official photo gallery of Petr Pavel.
Brussels, Nov 29 (CTK) – Czech President Petr Pavel is included on a list of the 28 most influential personalities who will determine the character of Europe in 2024, according to the Brussels-based website Politico, which has described him as a hawk on Russia and China, a supporter of Ukraine and promoter of NATO enlargement.
In addition to Pavel, Politico’s list includes, for example, French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
In a short profile of Pavel, Politico highlights his use of his experience as former head of the NATO Military Committee to push for more effective support for Kyiv. He also does not want China to become the mediator between Russia and Ukraine in any way. Politico mentions Pavel’s insistence that any peace must be based on Ukrainian terms.
Next year, the website writes, Pavel may reaffirm his welcoming approach to Taiwan, whose president, Tsai Ing-wen, he called immediately after his election as president this January, the first European leader to do so.
He also expressed hope of seeing Tsai “in person in the future” — laying the ground for an unprecedented meeting between the head of state of an EU country and Taiwan. Beijing, which claims the self-ruling island as its own, slammed the call, saying Pavel “trampled on China’s red line” and “has hurt the feelings of the Chinese people,” Politico recalls.
The website speculated that 2024 could be the year Pavel follows through on his pledge to meet Tsai — and tramples Beijing’s reddest of lines.
