Zelensky in Prague in a quest for NATO bid, more weapons

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
7 Jul 2023 00:05

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives in Prague to meet with his counterpart from the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks in Kiev, on March 17, 2022 (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/AFP)

As Kiev presses for membership in the military alliance and seeks more weapons, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Prague on Thursday.

As part of his discussions over NATO membership and military deliveries with Bulgaria, a significant ally and ammunition supplier, Zelensky paid an official visit to Sofia on Thursday.

He then traveled to Prague to meet with his counterpart from the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, before Friday's meeting in Istanbul with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

According to Zelensky's claims, the slow delivery of weapons to Ukraine prevented Kiev from launching its anticipated counteroffensive, which allowed Russia to fortify its defenses in occupied territory.

During his one-day stay in Sofia, Zelensky met with President Rumen Radev and the prime minister of Bulgaria, Nikolay Denkov.

Zelensky's trip to Bulgaria was criticized by the Kremlin as it accused the Ukrainian President of attempting to "drag" other nations into the conflict.

Before beginning its operation in February 2022, the Kremlin said Ukraine's desire to join the most potent defense alliance in the world posed a threat to its security.

It is worth noting that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez reaffirmed his country's "unequivocal" commitment to Ukraine's efforts to join the European Union on the first day of Madrid's presidency of the bloc.

The Prime Minister kicked off his country's presidency of the EU by visiting Kiev as part of Madrid's show of support for the country's accession into the 27-country bloc.

Lukashenko says Prigozhin is back in Russia

Earlier today, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who arranged an agreement to stop Russia's armed mutiny last month, announced that PMC Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was no longer in Belarus.

He announced on June 27 that Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus as part of the agreement.

"As for Prigozhin, he's in St Petersburg," he told reporters on Thursday, "He is not on Belarusian territory."

This comes after Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov's statement on Friday in which he stressed that Russia will deal with the repercussions created by an attempted armed mutiny by Prigozhin on its own.

On the evening of June 23, the Wagner Group took control of an army headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, a city in southern Russia, and marched toward Moscow the next day. Prigozhin claimed that his activities were in retaliation for the Defense Ministry's purported assault on his group's field camps, which the Ministry categorically denied.

After speaking with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who was acting at the behest of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin decided to put an end to the rebellion, and Lukashenko later acknowledged Prigozhin's arrival in Belarus.