Foreign Minister Lipavský receives seal and stamp of protocol on termination of Warsaw Pact
On Thursday, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský received the seal and stamp symbolizing the termination of the Warsaw Pact from Hana Hlaváčková, President of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, which has been their custodian until now. The handover took place at the opening of the Foreign Ministry's traditional year-end event, held to thank partners, institutions, and NGOs for their collaboration in strengthening the Czech identity within the Czech diaspora.
The Warsaw Pact, officially known as the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was formally terminated on July 1, 1991, at Czernin Palace, in Prague. The original protocol is preserved in the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic and was displayed during the event, where Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský addressed the attendees.
“Distinguished gentlemen, dear colleagues, friends, I also welcome you very warmly here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We are combining this event with the event celebrating the Czech diaspora since it is important to commemorate this piece of Czechoslovak and Czech history. It was this seal and this stamp that was used to seal the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact on 1 July 1991 here in the Czernin Palace in the Great Hall.”
After the foreign minister’s opening words, I spoke to the Director of the Minister's Cabinet —and a witness to the events of 1991—Karel Kühnl. He spoke about the important symbolic value of having the ceremony in the Czernin Palace at this time in history.
“The symbolic value is to remember the fact that in 1991 the Warsaw Pact was dissolved, which ended the biggest trauma of our lives, speaking for my generation. This represented the real end of the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia.”
Foreign Minister Lipavský opened his remarks by stating that the Warsaw Pact divided politics in the region, separating the East and West. So, I asked Mr. Kühnl about the fundamental difference between the security guarantees under the Warsaw Pact and NATO today.
“It is the responsibility of our generation to teach, to inform the younger generations. The biggest difference between the Warsaw Pact and NATO is that we were forced to be in the Warsaw Pact, and we joined NATO of our own will.
“The second difference is that the Warsaw Pact actually wasn't a military pact. It was a pact that was directed at using the armies against their own people, which we experienced in 1968, as opposed to NATO, which is really a military pact of defense.”
When confronted with claims that NATO is an occupying force, Mr. Kühnl responded with a direct and emphatic statement on the importance of understanding history and rejecting disinformation and misinformation.
“I would say wake up. Wake up and try to learn their history. This is simply untrue, it is such nonsense that I simply am not ready to discuss it.”
