Comments by Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka on EU sanctions and developments in Ukraine

The Czech Republic has succeeded in its efforts to revise the scope of the new sanctions proposed. As Prime Minister, I welcome the latest developments in Ukraine. I firmly hope that the negotiated truce will be respected by all parties to the conflict and that this will open the way to a peaceful and diplomatic solution to this major crisis. I can confirm that on Thursday and Friday, negotiators for the Czech Republic were able to put forward our Government’s fundamental objections to the proposed form of the EU sanctions. In my opinion, the current proposal is less damaging for the European economy and no longer poses a direct threat to Czech industrial exports to Russia, primarily the export of machine tools and supplies of technological products for the oil industry. We were risking annual losses that would affect sales in the region of CZK 8 billion. I welcome the opening of a debate in the EU of how the application of these new sanctions over the coming weeks could depend on the ceasefire holding in Ukraine.

Bohuslav Sobotka, Prime Minister of the CR