Final Word from Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Jan Pokorný of Czech Radio asked Pres. Petr Pavel yesterday what it would mean if Robert Fico's vow of not sending a single bullet to Ukraine truly applied, and Pavel responded: "It would mean that sooner or later Ukraine will lose this fight, and Russia will win." Pavel added a few moments later that Slovakia's contribution of course can't save or sink Ukraine but is very important in terms of maintaining unity. The next question should have been, but wasn't, about the decision of the U.S. Congress to leave aid for Ukraine out of a key spending bill for avoiding a government shutdown. Isn't that more important in terms of Ukraine than who the next PM of Slovakia is? With Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and the U.S. all now backing away from military aid for Kyiv, perhaps the most important question for Pavel is whether the CR is supposed to become the eastern flank/Bucharest Nine leader of the war effort. Suddenly a White House visit for Pres. Gen. Petr Pavel makes geopolitical sense. [ Czech Republic ČRo B9 Nato NATO ]
Glossary of difficult words
flank - the right or left side of a body of people such as an army, naval force or soccer team;
vow - a pledge or promise;
shutdown - a closure of a factory or system, typically a temporary closure due to a fault or for maintenance.