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Former US President Bill Clinton, who is in Prague to attend a conference marking 25 years since Czechia’s accession to NATO, on Monday met for talks with Prime Minister Petr Fiala. They discussed the present security situation and international assistance for Ukraine which is resisting a full-scale invasion from Russia for the third year now. Mr. Clinton expressed appreciation for the Czech initiative to find badly needed ammunition for Ukraine from outside the EU.

It was also announced that the Czech prime minister would be received by President Biden in the White House on April 15. The meeting should focus on further strengthening Czech-American ties, reaffirm  continued support for Ukraine and address a wide range of security and business issues.

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.

Some 608 new cases of whooping cough were registered in Czechia in the past week, the State Health Institute said in a press release. There have been 2,273 cases since the start of this year, mostly in the South Bohemian, Central Bohemian, and Vysočina regions. Since compulsory vaccination against it was introduced in the 1960s, the only year that has seen a larger number of whooping cough cases was 2014, when there were over 2,500 cases registered for the whole year.

The man accused of starting the largest forest fire ever seen in Czechia could soon be heading to court, Seznam Zprávy reported on Monday. The former volunteer security guard, who has been in custody since last May, could face up to 15 years in prison for general endangerment and damage to another's property. He stands accused of starting the massive forest fire which broke out in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park in the summer of 2022 and ravaged over 1,000 hectares, as well as setting fire to an observation tower and outside seating areas in Děčín last April.

The public prosecutor first filed charges against him last autumn, but the court returned the case to the plaintiff with a request to specify the amount of damage caused. The indictment has now been filed for a second time, with an estimated damage of CZK 350 million.