Pavel: China benefits from prolonging of Russia’s war on Ukraine

The Czech president, Petr Pavel, says that China cannot be trusted to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine and in fact benefits from the war dragging on. In an interview for Politico published on Tuesday, Mr. Pavel said that China could get cheap oil, gas and other resources from Russia in exchange for its “no limits” partnership with Moscow.

The Czech head of state also said it would be “difficult” for both Slovakia and Czechia if populists won elections there later this year.

On the domestic political scene, Mr. Pavel said participants in anti-government protests should not all be lumped together and that only some were pro-Russian. He said some were angered by the government’s communication on economic matters, which he said was not its strongest suit.