You personally attended Prime Minister Fiala’s meeting with President Volodomyr Zelensky. Do you feel that you are attending a historic moment?
“Maybe a little. Or I don’t know if it’s history, but it’s strong and I’ll remember it for a long time.”
What makes it strong?
“You see the determination, the belief, in President Zelensk and in Prime Minister myhal. There is a movement to a goal. Nobody breaks protocol and gets to the point. Time is short and he is fighting for his life.”
Is Zelensky in personal contact?
“Nothing comes to me other than the media image we have of him. When you see him in real life, it’s probably more obvious that he’s smaller. But otherwise he looks just as comfortable as he does on TV.”
It is estimated that your train carrying the delegation also has a carriage with some cargo – either weapons or other assistance. Can you tell me something about that?
“I didn’t see any cargo, I guarantee it.”
However, it is possible that there areā¦
“I really don’t know about any cargo.”
Among other things, Kiev will grant asylum to Russian deserting soldiers in Europe. Is there no security risk?
“It must have been the people who laid down their guns and surrendered to the Ukrainians there. There are a lot of 18-year-old boys who don’t even know why they were sent there. But if they surrender and survive, they face prison terms at home. This is a strategically important humanitarian move that could help bring about an earlier ceasefire.”
So, are we going to motivate the Russian soldiers to leave?
“Yes. But it is important that not only one country offers it, but that there are many. It could save many lives, both for Ukraine and for the poor soldiers sent there for their deaths.”
How do you make sure Russian agents don’t come here with the defector?
“You probably know that these are not KGB officers trained for diversion in foreign countries. Yes, if a Russian general applies for asylum, let’s give him one to give him some information. But the gist of these people. verified by telling you where they serve, where they come from, where they live. That’s how many cuckoo eggs can be removed.”
What about the other participants? Prime Ministers of Poland and Slovenia were also present.
“Everyone said it was important and they wanted to discuss it further.”
When Prime Minister Fiala tells you that he wants you to be by his side in Kiev, you automatically say yes. Didn’t you catch him at home then? You have a wife, children.
“I believe they understand. And they know that when I was young, I spent months of my life in a war zone, so maybe I know what I’m doing (Pojar worked for 8 years as head of People in Need, then worked at the Ministry of Defence. Foreign Affairs – editor’s note). From my point of view, this trip is not risky, I really am not afraid.”
Not a little?
“We’re not even on the front lines. The trains go through the interior of Ukraine, where the soldiers don’t get, and when something shoots there, they’re a static target. And the siren sounds somewhere – I’m the ambassador to Israel, so did my dad, and I had a lot of sirens there.”
How do you view Petr Fiala’s adoration of going to Ukraine?
“I’m not going to be exaggerating. The prime minister is a conscious person and he doesn’t want to exaggerate. It was a movement that resonated around the world. For a long time now, the Czech Prime Minister has not been portrayed positively in all foreign reports. And that is right and I thank him for that.”
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