Czech President Petr Pavel met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy today at the Three Seas security summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. Zelenskiy thanked the Czech Republic for the recent initiative to secure ammunition for his country, which is defending itself against a Russian invasion that began more than two years ago.
The two heads of state also talked about other current needs of Ukraine.
Pavel and Zelenskiy are taking part in the presidential meeting of the Three Seas initiative, which brings together 13 countries located between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black Seas. It includes Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Croatia, Romania, Greece and Bulgaria. Greece only joined the grouping last year. The aim of the initiative is to cooperate in various areas and link the region in a north-south direction..
Zelenskiy said on the Internet this afternoon that he had briefed Pavel on the situation on the battlefield, Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and his country’s needs for energy facilities.
“We discussed defence support for Ukraine, strengthening cooperation in the defence industry, our integration into the EU and NATO, and the conclusion of a bilateral security agreement,” Zelenskiy wrote on social media, his posts accompanied with a video of the meeting. He thanked the Czech Republic for its steadfast support for Ukraine.
Pavel later said on social media that he had assured Zelenskiy of the Czech Republic’s continued support for Ukraine in every possible way. “That is not only by supplying ammunition in cooperation with foreign partners, but also by planning post-war reconstruction and supporting the country on its way to the EU and NATO,” Pavel noted.
President Pavel raised the possibility of buying 500,000 155-millimetre calibre shells and 300,000 122-millimetre shells for Ukraine from outside EU member states at the Munich Security Conference in mid-February. The proposal to buy artillery ammunition for Ukraine was first made by Czech PM Petr Fiala at an EU summit in early February. The Brussels-based Politico reported previously that the Czech Republic is interested in ammunition from arms companies in South Korea, Turkey and South Africa. About 20 countries have joined the initiative so far.
The Czech Presidential Office said the Three Seas initiative declares unequivocal and all-round support for Ukraine and Moldova in connection with the Russian aggression, and advocates an active role in the reconstruction of Ukraine.
The last Three Seas summit was held in Bucharest last September. In addition to welcoming Greece, Moldova and Ukraine were admitted as associated states of the initiative. The main topics of the summit were the war in Ukraine and strengthening cooperation in energy and transport.
