Czech President: Europe Must Close“Gap” And Play More Active Role In Ukraine Peace Talks

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Czech President Petr Pavel made this statement during a panel discussion at the Berlin Global Dialogue conference in Berlin on Thursday, according to a Ukrinform correspondent.

“I personally believe that our American allies do not necessarily represent European interests in the best way. That is precisely why I am firmly convinced that Europe must become more actively involved in the negotiations, have a clear vision of what the outcome should be and what the limits of the negotiations are, and propose alternatives that will make it possible to conduct the negotiations,” Pavel said.

According to him, Europe needs to develop a common position on ending the war and the future security architecture in order to become a full-fledged participant in the diplomatic process.

“Currently, these are merely negotiations between three parties-the United States, Russia, and Ukraine-in which Europe is not represented. I consider this a gap,” the Czech president noted.

At the same time, he acknowledged that European countries still lack a sufficiently coordinated vision for the continent's future security architecture:“We do not have a single, clear European position. We have certain positions within the EU, but the EU does not represent all of Europe.”

In his view, without a strong, unified position, neither Russia nor the United States will regard European countries as full-fledged partners in negotiations.

At the same time, the Czech president emphasized that diplomatic contacts with Moscow are necessary, but they must be based on specific conditions and results. He also pointed out that Moscow is currently not showing any willingness to pursue a genuine peaceful settlement.

“They have not yet expressed any willingness to engage in peace talks, with one exception-Ukraine's surrender and President Zelensky's resignation. This is impossible for Ukraine. It is impossible for us on principle,” Pavel noted.

He also suggested considering future negotiations not only in the context of ending the war in Ukraine but also within the broader postwar architecture of European security.

As reported by Ukrinform, on October 20 in Oslo, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held talk with U.S. Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff, with the participation of Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gar Støre. European representatives also joined the preparatory consultations.

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The parties discussed issues related to territory, security guarantees, and Ukraine's postwar reconstruction. The following day, Witkoff traveled to Russia to continue diplomatic contacts.

On October 21, a meeting took place at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St. Petersburg between U.S. Presidential Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

After the meeting, Witkoff stated that discussions on ending the Russian-Ukrainian war would continue in the format of trilateral talks at the technical level.

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