Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis met the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday in Yerevan, Armenia, on the eve of the European Political Community (EPC) summit, which both will attend.
Speaking after the meeting, Babis said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is interested in ending the war in Ukraine, and the Czech Republic shares this desire, but the question is who will mediate this. Zelenskiy later described the meeting as productive and thanked the Czechs for their support of his country.
Babis said that the situation is complicated by the U.S. President Donald Trump’s current focus on the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, but that he believes there is a chance to end the war. He said leaders from Central Asian countries or Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could get involved in the peace process.
“It is clear that Ukraine is unlikely to accept the conditions envisioned by President Putin,” said Babis. “However, such talks have taken place in the past. We certainly need to continue them, but for now we are waiting to see how the U.S. side will get involved.”
The Czech prime minister stated that Russia does not accept the participation of European leaders in resolving the conflict. According to Babis, the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) could get involved. He noted that Erdogan has a good relationship with Trump, while Central Asian leaders maintain diplomatic ties with both Moscow and Washington. However, he added that Trump will play the most important role in the negotiations.
Zelenskiy described the meeting with Babis as productive. “There is real potential to deepen our cooperation,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on social media. He added that he and the Czech prime minister also discussed “the next steps on Ukraine’s path to European Union membership.” At the same time, Babis said at a press conference that they had not discussed the possibility of Ukraine’s accession to the EU during their meeting. In his post, Zelenskiy thanked the Czechs for their heartfelt support of Ukraine.
Babis and Zelenskiy did not discuss Czech aid to war-torn Ukraine, which Babis attributed to the amount of aid provided to Ukraine by the previous cabinet of Petr Fiala (ODS). “They left us with an empty treasury, a hole in the budget. So we didn’t discuss providing financial aid,” the prime minister stated.
Yesterday’s meeting in Yerevan was the first bilateral meeting between Babis and Zelenskiy since Babis returned to power in December. They last met in 2019 in Kyiv, before the start of the Russian invasion in 2022.
Babis stated that he could meet with the Ukrainian president again in late June in Gdansk, Poland, at a conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine. The conference will take place on June 25-26.
The meeting between the two leaders took place the day before the European Political Community (EPC) summit, which both will attend. During the summit, Babis plans to meet with other European leaders including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Serbian Prime Minister Dura Macut, and Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
The EPC summit is expected to address energy and economic security, the current geopolitical situation, and strengthening stability in Europe.
