Biden calls Czechia "great ally" during White House meeting with Fiala

During his meeting with Prime Minister Petr Fiala at the White House on Monday, US President Joe Biden praised Czechia's support for Ukraine, especially its efforts to secure ammunition from outside the EU for the invaded country, and stated that he considers it a great ally.

For his part, the Czech prime minister described the fact that Czechia and the United States share the same core values of human rights, freedom and democracy as "crucial" for coping with today's challenges such as terrorism, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, or the complex situation in the Middle East, adding that security cooperation between democratic countries is a necessity.

Mr. Fiala also praised Biden's role in supporting Ukraine and described the mutual relations between their two countries as "excellent", citing the signing of the Defense Cooperation Agreement last year and Czechia's purchase of US fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets as examples. He also recalled the role of the United States in the creation of the independent state of Czechoslovakia in 1918 and mentioned former US Secretary of State and Prague native Madeleine Albright as examples of the strong links between their two countries.