The elected president of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel said that Ukraine should receive permission to join NATO "as soon as the war ends", because the country is "morally and practically ready" to join the Western alliance after the end of the war.
Petr Pavel stated this in an interview with the BBC.
"The Ukrainian military will probably be the most experienced military in Europe. Ukraine deserves to be part of the community of democratic countries," added the president.
In his first post-election interview with international media, General Pavel also stated that there should be almost no restrictions on what countries should transfer to Ukraine. F-16 fighter jets are also not taboo, but Pavel is not sure that they can be delivered in terms that can be useful for Kyiv.
"We have no alternative. If we leave Ukraine without help, it will most likely lose this war. And if she loses, we all lose," Pavel noted.
The Czech Republic was the first Western country to send Soviet-designed T72 and BMP1 tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to Kyiv.
- On September 30, 2022 (after Putin announced the annexation of four regions of Ukraine), President Volodymyr Zelensky signed an application for Ukraineʼs accelerated accession to NATO. In October, the Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov stated that the discussion on Ukraineʼs accession to NATO has already begun.
- On January 1, 2023, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Western partners to plan long-term assistance to Ukraine in the war with Russia. According to him, the successes of the Ukrainian army should not create a false impression of a quick victory for Kyiv. He emphasized that Ukraine urgently needs the military support of the West, because Russia has replenished the ranks of the military and is preparing for the continuation of the war.