Former NATO General Peter Pavel, who won the Czech presidential election in January 2023 and is due to take office in March, believes the West must be careful in seeking to defeat Russia in order to avoid undesirable defeat scenarios.
He stated this at the “Ukrainian lunch” organized by the Pinchuk Foundation as part of the Munich Security Conference, the correspondent reports.European truth“.
Commenting on the possible outcome of the war after Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba announced that there was no alternative to the return of Crimea and international punishment of Russia, Pavel said that the West should refrain from supporting one scenario or another.
“We need to be careful about pushing Ukraine towards a certain result. Maybe at some point Ukraine will change its vision,” he added.
Peter Pavel noted that the defeat of the Russian Federation has various scenarios, including those that the West must avoid.
“It is possible that this will lead to the collapse of Russia… If Russia is collapsed, then we may have more problems, we will have no one to negotiate disarmament with,” he stressed.
Pavel did not specify what exactly, in his opinion, should change in the actions of the West for this, but urged “to be realistic – to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”
Formerly in Munich USA accused the Russian Federation of crimes against humanity during the war in Ukraine, while Poland stated that will consider the transfer of MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine.
It is worth noting that none of the other panelists, where, in particular, the prime ministers of Sweden, Finland and Estonia were present, publicly supported the Czech politician.
Read about the discussion in Munich in the article A world without Russia’s participation: what kind of post-war order are they negotiating in Munich.
