Pompeo and Petříček commemorate 1945 liberation at Plzeň ceremony

The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, and his Czech counterpart, Tomáš Petříček, commemorated the liberation of West Bohemia in May 1945 by the American Army in a ceremony in Plzeň on Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Pompeo had been due to attend a similar event on the 75th anniversary of liberation three months ago but could not attend because of the coronavirus situation.

The two foreign policy chiefs laid wreathes at the Thanks, America! monument in Plzeň  and Mr. Pompeo made a short address. They later visited the brewery where Pilsner Urquell is made.

The event came on the first day of a two-day visit to the Czech Republic. On Wednesday Mr. Pompeo is due to meet Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and President Miloš Zeman and deliver a speech in the Senate. The following morning, Pompeo will begin a tour of other Central European countries, including Slovenia, Austria and Poland.