Czech Republic President Petr Pavel said that he expects a "significant shift" in the Russia-Ukraine war following the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
In an exclusive interview with Czech news outlet Seznam Zprávy published Monday, Pavel said that he does not anticipate such a shift to be in the best interest of Ukraine or its Western allies. The Czech Republic, a member of NATO and the European Union, has supported Kyiv since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022.
"There will be a new situation that we will have to deal with," Pavel said, referring to what he anticipates for the war in Ukraine after the U.S. election. "According to the indications so far, the shift will not be quite in the best sense of the word, as we would imagine."
Pavel added that Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely anticipating the results of the November 2024 election in the U.S. in hopes that former President Donald Trump is reelected to the White House. Experts have previously said that Putin is waiting on America's election results before agreeing to a peace deal in Ukraine, sensing that under a second Trump administration, Moscow would get a "better deal" out of negotiations.
"At least on Vladimir Putin's side, there is an expectation that if Donald Trump succeeds, he would be able to come to an agreement with him regardless of what Ukraine or the rest of Europe thinks about it, and that some kind of compromise could be reached that would theoretically return Russia to the status of a key player and others will have to put up with it somehow," Pavel said, according to an English-translated version of his interview with Seznam Zprávy.
Trump, the front-runner for the next GOP presidential nomination, has expressed an indifference toward the war in Ukraine, and has promised to bring the conflict to an end within 24 hours if reelected to office. Some of the former president's top allies in Congress have also raised concerns over the amount of military aid that the U.S. is sending to Kyiv—Republican lawmakers have put a hold on signing off on another aid package unless a deal can be reached with Democrats that also includes funding for the U.S. southern border.
Trump spokeswoman Liz Harrington told Newsweek when reached for comment on Pavel's statement that "the war in Ukraine would have never happened under President Trump, who was the only president to successfully keep Russia in check."
"The United States was respected under President Trump, and will be again when he returns to the White House," Harrington added. "President Trump is the only candidate who can prevent WWIII."
Trump has previously vowed to prevent World War III during his 2024 campaign.
Pavel previously warned that if Western allies fail to "maintain our support for Ukraine, next year could be even more favorable to Moscow."
"Unfortunately, our deliveries of military equipment are not enough to allow Ukraine to continue a high-intensity operation," the Czech leader added in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera.
Update 12/19/2023, 11:45 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional comment from former President Donald Trump's campaign.
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