Czech President: NATO sending troops into Ukraine does not violate international law 0
(Dan Tri) – According to Czech President Petr Pavel, it is necessary to clearly distinguish between the deployment of combat forces and support forces on Ukrainian territory.
Czech President Petr Pavel (Photo: EPA).
In an interview with the media on March 10, Czech President Petr Pavel said that if NATO deployed direct support forces on Ukrainian territory, that would not be considered a violation of any international standards.
`It should be remembered that, after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula, a NATO training force operated on Ukrainian territory. At one time, this force had a size of up to 1,000 people from more than 15 countries.`
He emphasized that, from the perspective of international law and the United Nations Charter, `nothing will prevent the militaries of NATO member countries` from supporting operations in Ukraine.
When asked whether he supported the deployment of NATO troops to provide direct support on Ukrainian territory, President Pavel said he would not rule out further discussion on the issue.
`I certainly will not refuse a debate on this issue. For example, if the allies agree on a position instead of training Ukrainian soldiers on the territory of NATO member states and sending thousands of soldiers
President Pavel was one of the NATO leaders who spoke out after French President Emmanuel Macron said Western leaders had discussed the scenario of sending troops into Ukraine.
The idea of sending troops to Ukraine is still controversial.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on March 8 that the presence of NATO forces in Ukraine `is not unthinkable`.
The debate over the idea of sending troops into Ukraine takes place in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has entered its third year.
Pope Francis over the weekend called on Ukraine to `have the courage to raise the white flag` to negotiate an end to the conflict with Russia.
Many countries later criticized the Pope’s call.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin welcomed Pope Francis’ call.
`The idea that the Pope mentioned is very easy to understand. You know that (Russian) President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated that he is always ready to solve problems through negotiations and this is always a priority,`
However, he said that such calls by the Pope as well as those of other countries, including Russia, have met with opposition from Ukraine.
