The Czech contribution to the PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) program for the purchase of American weapons for Ukraine will be a lump sum, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has stated.
According to an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent, the prime minister made the statement in Ankara on Wednesday before the start of the official part of the NATO summit.
"This is a question for Mr. Macinka (Czech Foreign Minister – Interfax-Ukraine), who found some money that was supposed to be intended for Ukraine. I don’t know exactly how much it is, some smaller amount. Since we committed not to give Ukraine money (for weapons – Interfax-Ukraine) and we will continue to do so. Macinka actually directed this money to the PURL program, but it is a lump smaller sum, I don’t know what amount," he said, answering journalists’ questions regarding participation in the initiative.
Babis also repeated that the Czech Republic will not fulfill its obligation to spend 2% of GDP on defense this year.
"I think that we will not reach two percent this year," Babis said.
Earlier, Czech media reported that the Czech Republic would redirect funds from some projects to the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, under which allied countries pay for American military equipment for Ukraine. Foreign Minister Petr Macinka stated this before his departure for the NATO summit on Tuesday. President Petr Pavel called the participation of the Czech Republic in the PURL system a positive signal.
