Czechia marking 25 years since NATO accession

Czechia is marking the 25th anniversary of the country’s accession to NATO. The milestone event in the country’s history is the main focus of a conference at Prague Castle titled “Our Security Cannot be Taken for Granted”.

The main speakers at the conference are the former US president Bill Clinton, who significantly assisted Czechia’s accession to the alliance, former NATO chiefs Javier Solana and Lord George Robertson, Czech President Petr Pavel, Prime Minister Petr Fiala and the Czech minister of defense, Jana Černochová.

In his opening address, Prime Minister Fiala said that the day Czechia joined NATO was one of the most important days in the country’s modern history, a day that marked a turning point for the country’s security. He said Czechia was committed to making an active contribution to the alliance and to help counter the growing security threats that have emerged. The prime minister emphasized that Czechia was now contributing 2 percent of GDP towards defense and was actively helping Ukraine to help resist the Russian aggression.

Former US President Bill Clinton, who significantly assisted NATO’s expansion eastward during his tenure in office, said the move had been a good investment that significantly strengthened NATO. He thanked the Czech Republic for providing military assistance to Ukraine and for taking in a great many Ukrainian refugees to ease the country’s plight.

Former NATO chief George Robertson warned that if Russia prevails in Ukraine, it will not stop there. He said Ukraine is fighting not just for itself, but for the Western democracies and for western values so it was essential that NATO provide the invaded country with all possible means to defend itself.

The Czech Republic became a member of NATO on 12 March 1999. The anniversary was also commemorated by a flypast of fighter jets over Prague.