Czech Leader Warns US Allies Against ‘Appeasement’ of Putin
- Czech premier ‘pleasantly surprised’ by Trump in phone call
- Fiala warns against ‘appeasement’ in Ukraine cease-fire deal
Petr Fiala during an interview at the parliament in Prague, Czech Republic, on Dec. 6.
Photographer: Milan Jaros/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Europe will need the US to project strength to halt more aggressive moves from Russia, the Czech Republic’s prime minister said, as he warned allies against “appeasement” in any process to end the war on Ukraine.
Petr Fiala, whose government has been among the most vocal in NATO in denouncing the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, said forcing Kyiv to cede territory will only encourage Vladimir Putin’s war machine. He said he was “pleasantly surprised” by a phone call with US President-elect Donald Trump, who was inquisitive about Prague’s position on Ukraine and heard out the eastern European premier.