Andrzej Duda and Petr Pavel confirmed that their countries will continue to support Ukraine and maintain pressure on Russia to end the war.
Both leaders made these statements during a press conference in Prague.
“I want to emphasize the strong support that both our nations are providing to Ukraine, which was attacked—not only in terms of material aid, but also political, diplomatic, and financial support for Ukraine’s EU membership and, in the long term, NATO membership, which will ensure greater stability in Europe,” Pavel said.
Polish President Duda, in turn, assured that his successor Karol Nawrocki will continue the policy of close cooperation between Warsaw and Prague. He expressed hope that Pavel would invite Nawrocki to make one of his first official visits to the Czech Republic.
Duda thanked Pavel for the Czech initiative to support Ukraine, which has enabled the supply of ammunition to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He noted that this assistance came at a crucial time when Ukraine was in urgent need.
“We support Ukraine and have no doubt that Russian imperialism must be stopped—Putin cannot win this war. Everything must be done to ensure that he doesn’t,” Duda stressed.
According to him, European partners together with the United States must build a defense capacity strong enough to deter the aggressor and prevent another war.
Regarding the U.S. role in supporting Ukraine, Duda said that “only the United States has the capacity to stop Russia.” He added that the current and future U.S. presidents need to be convinced that peace in Central Europe can only be achieved by countering Russian imperialism.
“We (with Pavel) discussed frozen Russian assets, Ukraine’s reconstruction, and the methods that should be used to stop Russia. We agreed that strong economic measures are needed to significantly weaken Russia’s potential and Putin’s position, as he is the one deciding the course of the war,” the Polish president emphasized.