Czechia on military aid to Ukraine: West has to do more

This was stated by Minister for European Affairs of the Czech Republic, Mikulas Bek, during a panel discussion at the Davos Economic Forum, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The Czech Republic has already cleared its warehouses of Soviet-era equipment so the country must do more, the minister says, adding that he believes a broad agreement on further arms supplies will be reached as it is clear that the only way in this situation is to arm “Ukraine and ourselves."

According to the official, Western nations should strengthen their defense capabilities and increase the capacity of their defense industries. According to Bek, the government of the Czech Republic has significantly increased the number of licenses for defense industry. The same is happening in a number of other states.

Bek also recalled that initially, the drivers of the process were the east and north of the EU - the Baltic States, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Great Britain. Recently, there has been a certain dynamic, he notes, which is demonstrated by the geography of the states participating in the Ramstein meeting.

New coalitions are emerging in Europe, which Bek finds an interesting development.

He believes that the inclusion of new countries has also helped to promote the strengthening of sanctions.

At the same time, the appetite for sanctions in the West will depend on how the events in Russia will develop, the Czech minister believes. Sanctions are not the goal as they won't win the war for Ukraine and won't win the conflict between the West and Russia, but they give precious time, according to Bek.

Sanctions, in his opinion, are necessary at this stage.

The Czech Republic presided over the Council of the EU in the second half of 2022. The nation is among those who most support Ukraine politically, humanitarianly, and militarily – by sending military equipment.