Czech MFA explains President Pavel's words about temporary occupation of Ukrainian territories

Czech President Petr Pavel assessed the current situation on the Ukrainian front, stating that some Ukrainian territories may remain under Russian occupation after the war, but it is up to Ukrainians to decide the terms for a ceasefire, Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Marian said in a comment to Radio Svoboda.

Pavel is a strong supporter of Ukraine and therefore promotes President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Peace Formula, Marian stressed.

According to the deputy foreign minister, Pavel assessed the current situation as a former general and soldier.

"Regarding the future peaceful settlement or any decision — firstly, I believe we should let Ukraine decide what conditions are acceptable. Secondly, we fully support the Peace Formula. This is the right way. Thirdly, if there is any agreement on a ceasefire, I fear it will only be temporary," Marian said.

He added that this was the case in 2014-2015 after the signing of the Minsk agreements.

"So President Pavel may be right that there may be certain temporarily occupied territories, but this does not change our approach," the deputy foreign minister concluded.

On September 23, Pavel told The New York Times that "fatigue of 31 months of conflict is growing everywhere," and therefore Ukraine needs "to be realistic" about the prospects of regaining territories occupied by Russia.

On September 25, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted to his statement by saying that the withdrawal of Russian occupation forces from the sovereign territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders is one of the mandatory points of the Peace Formula.

That same day, Pavel responded to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's rebuke and stated that he had not said anything new.