Czech PM: EU leaders must decide on representative for Russia-Ukraine talks

European Union leaders should determine who will represent the bloc at the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine during the informal meeting of the European Council on November 13, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš told journalists ahead of the European Political Community (EPC) summit, Report's correspondent in Dublin informs.

"I will be interested in the progress of the peace talks, at which Europe is not yet represented at the level of European Council members. I believe it is important that tomorrow, at the informal meeting of the European Council, we finally decide who should represent it," he said.

According to Babiš, the EU representative should be one of the heads of government or presidents who are members of the European Council.

"There is a direct connection to the European budget: we are talking about funds, the allocation of which must be agreed upon. I hope that at tomorrow's meeting we will discuss specific issues," the Prime Minister noted.

The Prime Minister announced planned bilateral talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Answering a question about the financing of Ukraine and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's call for all EU states to participate in it, Babiš stated that he does not know whether this initiative will receive support.

"Mr. Merz has exactly the same vote as I do. Every member of the European Council can use the right of veto," he emphasized.

"I consider the linking of the European budget with the financing of Ukraine to be completely inappropriate. We are definitely against this," Babiš concluded.