PRAGUE: The Central 5 (C5), a group of five Central European countries, met in Stirin, near Prague, to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic, support for Ukraine, and the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU).

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said in a statement following the meeting on Tuesday that the Czech Republic aims to host an international donors' conference and that one of the priorities of its EU Presidency would be to help Ukraine. "We must help Ukraine on its route to EU membership," Lipavsky said, as per reports.

The C5 was formed in 2020 with the primary purpose of fostering close cooperation in the battle against the pandemic amongst the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia. The Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as its humanitarian and geopolitical ramifications, will be reflected in the goals of the Czech EU presidency, which will take place in the second half of 2022, said Lipavsky. Energy security, refugee assistance, and the battle against hybrid threats will be among them.

According to the Czech News Agency (CTK), Lipavsky aims to push the subject of having Russia's oil imports to the EU halted during his country's EU leadership. Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto emphasised that his country cannot authorise sanctions related to oil and gas exports because Budapest regards its own energy security as an untouchable red line.

Slovakia's Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok stated that cutting oneself off from Russian oil and gas supplies is vital, but it cannot be done overnight.

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