Photo: Tomáš Fongus
Mr President, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great honour for me to be able to present you today with a high state decoration of the Czech Republic on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Czech Republic's accession to NATO. You are undoubtedly a personality who has made a mark in the modern historical history of the Czech Republic, and not only the Czech Republic, but the entire region. Looking back in history, we can judge much better than at the time when historical moments take place which of them was a success, a failure, which of them was a seized or, on the contrary, a missed opportunity.
I am convinced that the entry of the Czech Republic and our neighbours into NATO in 1999 and the whole period that followed was definitely a success and continues to be a success and was also an opportunity that we took full advantage of together. It was certainly not an easy choice, because neither here nor in the world was NATO enlargement seen as the only way forward. Not only in the United States, but also in Europe and in the Czech Republic, there was a fundamental debate about whether, when and to what extent to expand NATO at all. The final decision required not only tremendous commitment from all involved, but also good vision and the courage to pursue it. You had these qualities, and so did our then President Václav Havel, and so did our then Secretary of State, our own Madeleine Albright. Without their help, and without the help of many other people who were involved in the process, this would not have happened at all.
When Madeleine Albright left us two years ago, you said at her funeral that you always tried to do your best and be prepared for the worst. In that context, you also said that you were not worried that Russia would return to communism, but that it might slide into nationalism and the pursuit of imperial ambitions. Today we see, and I have to say unfortunately, how close you were to the truth. Once again, we feel how important the decision to expand NATO and to further strengthen cooperation between its member states was. We also all feel again how important the transatlantic link and the leading role of the United States in the family of democracies is. We need that leadership, courage and vision as much as we have in the past, and I would also like to see your award as an opportunity to underline that we expect your successors to see the importance of NATO and the transatlantic link.
On behalf of the Czech Republic, I thank you once again and wish you good health.
Petr Pavel, President of the Republic, Prague Castle, 12 March 2024
The Office of the President of the Czech Republic/gnews.cz-JaV-07
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