The agreement on defense cooperation between the Czech Republic and the USA was approved long before it was signed by the Czech government, whose prime minister called the agreement a very important step. “This is undoubtedly a step that increases the security of our country and our citizens,” said Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
According to Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova, the contract enables direct cooperation between the Czech and US militaries. “Cooperation includes strengthening NATO’s eastern wing, logistical support for allied activities, strengthening defense infrastructure, and improving interoperability,” the prime minister stressed.
“Never has our strategic partnership been on such a strong foundation, nor has it changed after Russia’s invasion of peace-loving Ukraine,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at the Pentagon after signing the defense agreement with Yana Sernokova. He referred to the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and thanked Prague for its support of Kiev. The Czech Minister of Defense said that Russia’s efforts to invade a sovereign country are part of the Czech historical memory, and this is one of the reasons why it supports Ukraine. It was reported by Jana Černochová
23 other countries have earlier signed the defense pact with the United States.
Jana Černochová warned that no passage in the treaty contained a point whereby U.S. soldiers would be stationed on the territory of the Czech Republic, or that U.S. military bases would be established in the country. However, unsubstantiated information about American bases and the American occupation of the Czech Republic immediately began to circulate on the Internet.
Independence from Russian oil
In addition to the agreement on defense strategy, the Czech Republic also made another important declaration from an energy point of view. Prime Minister Petr Fiala announced that from 2025, shipments of crude oil from Italy will fully cover the needs of the Czech Republic, and thanks to this, the Czech Republic will cease to be dependent on Russian crude oil.
According to the prime minister, the necessary agreement has already been reached between the Czech side and the alliance operating the Transalpine oil pipeline. Peter Fiala said that the Transalbukiye Petroleum Pipeline has committed to increasing the amount of crude oil sent to the Czech Republic by 4 million tons per year in pipelines by 2025. Thus, about 8 million tons of crude oil can reach the Czech Republic through Italian pipelines every year.
