"China wants war"

"China wants war"

Pavel stated that Beijing benefits from prolonging the war.

The president's statements came to the Czech Republic as China tries to position itself as a peacemaker in Ukraine.

While most Western allies have been skeptical of China as a peace mediator, some countries such as France insist that China could play a major role in peace talks.

Pavel, a former general and senior NATO leader, was unequivocal.

When it comes to Ukraine, he stressed: "China only wants what is best for it".

"For now, it's prolonging war. I believe it's in China's interest to prolong the status quo because it can force Russia to make a number of concessions. Beijing can get cheap oil, gas and other resources from Moscow in exchange for its partnership 'without restrictions' with the Kremlin. It's probably good for China that the West becomes a little weaker because of its support for Ukraine," Pavel told Politico.

Pavel does not think that the real interest of China is to end the war as soon as possible.

The Czech president said that Beijing uses the war to draw lessons from it.

"China draws lessons from the conflict every day. They carefully monitor what Russia is doing, how the West reacts...", the president of the Czech Republic pointed out.