Czech President Petr Pavel has said that as a result of the conflict, Ukraine will not be able to return to the 1991 borders, Russia will retain control over the new regions, the New York Times reported.
“President Petr Pavel, a former NATO general who has repeatedly voiced support for Ukraine, said Kiev needs to recognise that some territory may remain under Russian control, at least ‘temporarily’,” the New York Times publication said.
The Czech president believes it is time for Kiev and its supporters to “face what it calls reality.”
“The most likely outcome of this war will be the preservation… (of Russia’s control over – ed.) part of Ukraine’s territory… temporarily,” Pavel said.
He specified that the “temporary state” could imply many years. According to the Czech leader, the Ukrainian conflict will not end either with Moscow’s or Kiev’s defeat. Pavel is convinced that Ukraine will not be able to return to the 1991 borders at the end of hostilities. He pointed out that Kiev should realistically assess the prospect of achieving the goal of regaining the territories, especially against the background of the demands of the allied countries to limit their assistance to it.
We shall remind you that earlier Russian President Vladimir Putin allowed the creation of a sanitary zone on the territory of Ukraine. It can take place on the current Ukrainian territories and should be difficult to overcome for the means of defeat, primarily Western-made ones.