West should not allow Putin to intimidate them - Czech Foreign Minister

This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Jan Lipavsky, who spoke on the air of ČT24 after returning from Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

Against the background of the permission to use American missiles against targets on Russian territory, Vladimir Putin is trying to intimidate the West once again, Lipavsky believes.

The minister assured that there are plans in case of escalation, and Russia is well aware of this, and "this deters them from taking steps that they will later regret; but this does not prevent Putin from inciting fear of nuclear war."

"The ultimate consumer of this fear-sowing is the general public. But responsible statesmen must react clearly and resolutely… We must be steadfast and confident that they know what will happen if a nuclear conflict breaks out. And so that the Kremlin’s statements cause no fear effect among us,” said the head of Czech diplomacy.

He reiterated that Ukraine should not become the same victim as Czechoslovakia as a result of the Munich Agreement. Therefore, in the process of searching for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, there should be no discussion going on behind Ukraine’s back.

“Ukrainians should not feel betrayed after they have been supported for so long and the door to Western civilization has been opened for them, we should not throw them overboard now,” the head of the Foreign Ministry said, addressing those who are actively promoting certain “peace” plans.

Speaking about what would happen if the incoming administration decided to immediately put Ukraine aid to a halt, Lipavsky said this would not mean that Ukraine would be left without any assistance, “but it would give Russia a great strategic edge,” he noted.

The diplomat is convinced that Europe should prepare for even the worst-case scenario should the U.S. under Donald Trump decide to cut assistance to Ukraine. In his view, American support can be compensated, but Europe is not prepared to allocate the necessary resources to this end. In particular, he mentioned Germany, which he called “more restrained” in providing assistance than some less powerful countries. Lipavsky also recalled that the EU could be more active in providing military assistance to Ukraine, had it not been for Hungary blocking this for so long.

Speaking about his visit to Ukraine, the head of Czech diplomacy noted that Ukraine continues to fight off Russia’s onslaught.

“I sensed great determination, but there are plenty of question marks hanging in the air,” he noted.

The Czech politician emphasized it is very important for Ukrainians to see that the world does not forget them, that the country is not alone in the ongoing war.

Lipavsky has already made four visits to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war.