Prague may continue participating in the so-called “Czech Initiative”, but does not plan to fund ammunition for Ukraine from the state budget.
Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babiš said this after taking part in a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in Paris.
“We, as a state, should not be giving money from the Czech budget. But I think we can remain part of this initiative on condition that funding is provided by other states,”
– Babiš
He added that Czech firms have know-how in this area, but everything must be conducted transparently, without corruption.
The prime minister hopes that partners in the ruling coalition will also agree with this approach.
Prospects for participation and future discussions
It is expected that on January 7 the National Security Council will meet for the first time in the new composition, and the ammunition initiative will become one of the main topics of discussion. The meeting will also be attended by President Petr Pavel, according to the press service – the head of state participates only in select meetings.
As reported, the ammunition initiative, proposed by the Czech Republic, envisions its role as a mediator in the search for and supply of large-caliber ammunition to Ukraine.
Last year Ukraine received 1.8 million rounds of ammunition under the initiative; since its launch in January 2023, more than 4 million rounds in total have been delivered.
Babiš intends to examine the situation with the ammunition initiative for Ukraine in more detail.