Office of the Spokesperson
Following is the text of a joint statement by the Governments of the United States of America and of the Czech Republic.
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The Governments of the Czech Republic and the United States renewed the U.S.-Czech Republic Strategic Dialogue in Prague on March 30, 2022, with delegations led by Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Povejsil and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried. In conjunction with the Strategic Dialogue, Assistant Secretary Donfried also met with Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky.
The United States and the Czech Republic have a historic friendship based on common democratic values and an appreciation of our shared responsibility to uphold the rules-based international order in cooperation with our Allies and partners. This Strategic Dialogue comes at a critical time. It demonstrates the strength and importance of the bilateral relationship as the United States and the Czech Republic focus on the security challenges on the Eastern Flank of NATO due to the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We underline our commitment to protect and defend every inch of NATO territory. The Czech Republic has renewed its commitment to increase its defense spending to two percent of GDP. A faster pace of modernization of the Czech armed forces is a priority, gaining new capabilities in cooperation with the United States and other Allies.
We stand strong and united in support of the people of Ukraine and the Ukrainian government against Russia’s unprovoked war, which is causing immense human suffering and destruction of civilian infrastructure. We call on Russia to cease its military offensive and completely withdraw its armed forces from the territories of Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia and to respect their sovereignty and internationally recognized borders. Beijing’s position on Russia’s war also remains under our close scrutiny. The United States and the Czech Republic agree that the international community must deepen Russia’s political and economic isolation and apply tougher sanctions against enablers of Russia’s aggression. The discussion of Ukraine’s post-war recovery must begin now. We must endeavor to provide Ukraine the political and practical assistance to support and realize its sovereign choice of full integration with Europe and the world’s democracies.
The United States and the Czech Republic emphasized the importance of the U.S.-Czech partnership in addressing common threats and challenges, including in the area of cyber security and resilience to hybrid threats. The Strategic Dialogue focused on reaffirming the strong, steady, and deepening bilateral cooperation between the United States and the Czech Republic and our joint commitment to enhance cooperation on a broad range of topics, including closer cooperation with partners in the Indo-Pacific region. We also affirm our commitment to deepen support and cooperation with democratic partners in the region and around the world, such as Taiwan.
We agree current geopolitical developments make enhancing energy security more urgent than ever. The United States and the Czech Republic are taking steps to reduce reliance on Russian oil, natural gas, and nuclear fuel by diversifying sources of energy, expanding our already strong cooperation on nuclear power, and reducing consumption in line with our shared climate goals.
The United States and the Czech Republic consulted on the importance of strengthening Transatlantic relations, including cooperation between the United States and the EU, during the Czech Republic’s presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of 2022. Both sides expressed a strong interest in deepening the bilateral strategic partnership in the year ahead and through future strategic dialogues. The parties plan to hold the next annual meeting in Washington in 2023.
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