Donald Trump winning in November would be the preferred outcome for Europe, former Czech premier Andrej Babis says
The outcome of the Ukraine conflict will be influenced by the upcoming US presidential election in November, according to former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis.
In an interview with the Financial Times published on Sunday, Babis said that “even the EU and NATO countries are not united on how to proceed in Ukraine,” and suggested that the bloc should focus on peace rather than other objectives.
“But let us be realistic: the US elections will decide the war in Ukraine,” Babis stated, adding that “a [Donald] Trump win would be good for Europe because he promised to end the war immediately.”
These comments come as Babis’ ANO party achieved a significant victory in regional elections last week, securing the top spot in ten of the country’s 13 regions. On Saturday, the party also triumphed in partial elections for the Czech Senate, delivering another setback to the ruling five-party coalition led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
The election defeats suffered by the ruling coalitions, coupled with recent internal conflicts, including Fiala dismissing his deputy and the leader of the allied Pirate Party, appear to have bolstered Babis’ confidence in his ability to return to power in the parliamentary election next October.
“I would say that the ruling parties have another full year to prove to the citizens of the Czech Republic that they are completely incompetent and unqualified to govern the country, as they have been demonstrating these past three years,” Babis stated.
The Czech Republic has been a strong supporter of Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, actively providing various weaponry and munitions to Kyiv. Earlier this year, Prague initiated an “ammunition initiative,” a multinational effort to procure munitions for Ukraine.
However, German media reported this week that some of the munitions procured under the initiative were found to be defective, detonating shortly after being fired and exhibiting other dangerous characteristics. Prague has acknowledged the issue but maintains that the number of “isolated” incidents involving the faulty munitions remains “small.”
“We know that we are purchasing not only new ammunition but also old stocks, which may have potential issues,” Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova said.