Czech Foreign Minister on historical lessons the West must learn before negotiating with Russia
Current events often resemble the past.
Today, as Ukraine fights not just for its sovereignty but for the principles that underpin the democratic world, we are confronted with echoes of 1938. gain, there are voices urging compromise, suggesting that stability can be purchased by sacrificing justice.
Once again, there are those who believe appeasement can satisfy a dictator’s ambitions.
Read more in the column by Jan Lipavský, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechia – "This is not peace, but surrender dressed up as diplomacy." Czech Foreigh Minister Lipavský on talks with Russia.
Lipavský reminds us, that Munich did not bring peace. It ushered in occupation, destruction, and one of the darkest chapters of the 20th century.
"Appeasement emboldened Hitler, just as it will embolden Putin. To abandon Ukraine is to abandon the principle that nations have the right to determine their own destiny", Lipavský writes.
He warns that a poorly negotiated peace with Russia would not end the war, it would merely delay the next one.
"A ceasefire that freezes territorial gains or denies Ukraine its rightful place in the European and transatlantic community would reward the Kremlin’s violence and deceit.
It would also grant legitimacy to war crimes and ensure that the perpetrators of atrocities in Bucha, Mariupol, and Irpin walk free", the Foreign Minister underlines.
He points out that this is not peace, but surrender dressed up as diplomacy.
Success for Russia is failure for the West, Lipavský notes.
"This is a zero-sum game, and the stakes are the principles that underpin our shared future – sovereignty, justice, and accountability.
We must reject any negotiation that ignores these stakes", he empasises.
He adds that peace talks cannot devolve into mere territorial bargaining.
"Peace demands courage, persistence, and, above all, clarity: clarity that Ukraine’s victory is not just its own–it is a victory for the democratic world led by nations that understand the price of freedom", the minister concludes.