PRAGUE (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was visiting Prague on Thursday, and would meet Czech President Petr Pavel, Prime Minister Petr Fiala and the heads of both parliamentary houses.
“Prague is next,” Zelenskiy tweeted.
“The focus will be on defense support, European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine and the Vilnius NATO Summit, the situation around the ZNPP, the implementation of the #PeaceFormula, and the rebuilding of Ukraine.”
Zelenskiy is due in the Czech capital after going to Bulgaria for talks on security and next week’s NATO summit.
Ukraine is seeking a clear signal from NATO at a July 11-12 summit in Vilnius that it can join the military alliance when Russia’s war on his country ends.
Though Ukraine wants to join as quickly as possible, NATO members have been divided over how fast that step should be taken, with some wary of moves they fear could take the alliance closer to an active war with Russia.
The Czech Republic has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since the invasion in February 2022, supplying military aid and other help.
Czech President Pavel, who was Czech army chief and principal military adviser to the NATO secretary-general in 2015-2018, said in a Reuters interview in May that Ukraine needs support for NATO and European Union entry but joining either would be a lengthy process.
(Reporting by Jason Hovet and Robert Muller; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Richard Chang)
