“In 1968—I was a little boy back then—I saw Russian tanks on the streets of Prague.
I don’t want to see them again. That’s why we must support Ukraine for as long as possible,” Fiala said on Monday at the start of the meeting with Biden in the Oval Office of the White House.
Joe Biden, on the other hand, emphasized the importance of aiding Ukraine and the potential consequences of a Russian victory.
“Just as the Czech Republic remembers,
Russia will not stop at Ukraine. And if it does not stop at Ukraine, the impact on NATO would be significant,” Biden said, once again urging Congress to pass a package of measures to support Kyiv.
The American leader thanked the Czech authorities for organizing the initiative to provide artillery missiles to Ukraine, as well as for other actions by Prague in support of Ukraine. He also mentioned that 25 years earlier, he was one of the main advocates for the Czech Republic’s accession to NATO, and it was “the best decision ever made.”
After the meeting, the Czech Prime Minister told journalists that the talks also covered the
development of nuclear energy in the Czech Republic and assistance to Ukraine in this matter. He also promised to discuss an aid package for Ukraine in the U.S. Congress.
“The United States must actively help Ukraine because we cannot allow Russian aggressive policy to celebrate its success,” he emphasized.
Monday’s talks at the White House were the
first bilateral meeting between the two leaders. Before meeting Biden, Fiala made an unannounced visit to the CIA headquarters, meeting with agency director William Burns and the heads of three services.
The Prime Minister did not reveal what the conversation was specifically about, except that it concerned
“security and the world situation.” The visit might have something to do with the Russian influence network that Czech services in Europe have uncovered.
On Tuesday, Fiala will meet with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, and the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Michael McCaul, on Capitol Hill, discussing, among other things, support for Ukraine.
