Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova At the 24th Air Transportation Base at Prague-Kbely Airport

SECRETARY BLINKEN:  Well, good morning, everyone.  It’s a great pleasure to be here with Minister Cernochova, and I just want to say first of all thank you – thank you to the minister for her extraordinary leadership and partnership with us and with so many NATO Allies.  Twenty-five years ago, the Czech Republic joined NATO, and I think we see today the full realization of what that Alliance means both for Czechia and for the United States and for all our Allies.

Czechia has been leading in so many different ways, including with its defense budget, soon to be 2.1 percent of GDP, meeting and exceeding the Wales Pledge.  We see it in the extraordinary work that Czechia is doing in support of Ukraine in a moment of great need, by the end of the year training up to about 9,000 Ukrainian forces; providing more than $600 million in equipment, authorizing another $6 billion in equipment flowing to Ukraine which it so desperately needs in defense of the aggression committed by Russia on an ongoing basis; and, of course, here, among other things, the refurbishment of Soviet legacy equipment, including tanks, including Howitzers, which Ukraine is using to help repel the Russian aggression.  This is truly extraordinary work.

I also have to especially applaud what Czechia has done in going around the world and finding the necessary munitions that Ukraine needs on the battlefield, including 155 and 152-millimeter munitions.  This is critical.  By the end of the year, we anticipate that that effort, led by Czechia, will produce nearly a million shells for Ukraine.

We’re also gratified by the relationship between the United States and Czechia when it comes to defense, including the acquisition of 24 F-35 planes, and, of course, the Defense Cooperation Agreement that we signed just a few months ago.  All of that is a powerful demonstration of our partnership and our alliance in action.

And the final thing I’d say is this:  The great strength of NATO, the entire reason for NATO, is collective self-defense.  Collective self-defense means that we’re all in this together.  An attack on one is an attack on all.  And it’s precisely that which makes conflict less likely.  It strengthens deterrence.  It says to any would-be aggressor or adversary that if you take on one member of NATO, you’re going to have to take them all on, and we’ve found that that’s most powerful way to actually prevent war from happening in the first place.  The Alliance – the NATO Alliance – will be celebrating its landmark anniversary in a short while in Washington.  It’s stronger than it’s ever been.  It’s larger than it’s ever been.  I believe it’s more effective than it’s ever been, particularly when it comes to collective self-defense and deterring aggression.

With that, Madam Minister.

DEFENSE MINISTER CERNOCHOVA:  Thank you.