Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Welcome to Prague. And welcome to the IISS [ÁJ ÁJ ES ES] Prague Defence Summit. We meet at a time of significant danger and uncertainty. The key challenge before us is clear: how to build a collective defence that is both credible and robust. Strong enough to deter Russia and secure Ukraine, which today stands as the frontline of Europe’s security.

Just this past weekend, I was in Denmark with my fellow foreign ministers, discussing precisely this challenge. Over the same days, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen visited seven European countries on the borders with Russia and Belarus. Her aim was to encourage and reassure these frontline states that the EU will stand by them in their defence efforts. Her stop in Bulgaria even made headlines, when Russia allegedly interfered with the GPS, forcing her plane to circle for an hour and land manually.

Over 10 years ago, Russia dispatched a team of special forces to destroy a Czech ammunition storage facility on Czech territory, which contained ammunition destined for the support of Ukraine. Two Czech workers were killed as a result. There are many other examples in Europe of Russian covert actions. In Salisbury in the UK in 2018, there was the notorious failed assassination attempt against the former KGB operative Sergei Skripal. Carried out by the very same two agents who had earlier attacked the Czech facility.

I mentioned these two incidents, ten years apart, to emphasise that Russia has been conducting an undeclared and hybrid war against the West for a very long time. They regard themselves at war with us. But despite the Russian invasion of Crimea and conflict in the Donbas from 2014, NATO was very slow to draw the consequences of Russian aggressive actions.

We in Central and Eastern Europe warned that Russia could not be trusted. We warned that Russia could not be contained by friendly gestures. But NATO’s main priority was in Afghanistan. Good relations and cooperation with Russia in Afghanistan were considered more important than defence against it in Europe. We Czechs, alongside our allies, served in Afghanistan and adapted our forces to NATO requirements for out-of-area operations. This shifted our focus away from collective defence in Europe. In retrospect, that was a mistake, as it diverted too much attention from Russia. We weakened what should have been our central mission. Defending Europe together.

Thankfully, this has all changed. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has seen the Alliance (re)transformed into what it does best – not peacekeeping or crisis management far beyond our lands, but collective defence and deterrence against a clear and present danger.

It will take some years to achieve a collective defence which is credible enough to deter Russia from an armed attack against a NATO member. This is a difficult enough task. But now we have an additional challenge – security guarantees for Ukraine.

Of course, Ukraine is not a NATO member, and it will probably not be a NATO member for the foreseeable future. But there is a growing realisation that unless Ukraine is given solid security guarantees by the West after the current conflict is over, then it will forever be subjugated to Russia. It will be an unstable frontier for the EU, with a restless and oppressed people, and Russia will again try to interfere into, and even threaten, those countries who oppose it on its borders.

So, Ukraine is now the frontline of our defence. Czechia has given significant military assistance to Ukraine from the beginning. Very importantly, we have led the so-called Czech ammunition initiative by which we have provided hundreds of thousands of artillery shells to Ukraine, both from our own industries and from sources all around the world. I think it is no exaggeration to say that without the ammunition provided through this initiative, Ukraine would have already lost the Donbas at least.

We are now participating in the Coalition of the Willing, planning for an eventual reassurance force for Ukraine, and possibly a security guarantee once the conflict is over. I cannot go into detail for obvious reasons. But this planning has confirmed many important aspects of this emerging new security architecture:

• First, the unity of purpose between the EU and NATO. Putin has not succeeded in dividing and splitting NATO or the EU.

• Second, despite appearances, the US is still engaged in Europe, and it's still working for a peace deal that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and need for robust security guarantees, which include US support.

• Thirdly, the Europeans are taking the lead in supporting Ukraine, as they should. And the fact that the UK, despite Brexit, is regarded as an essential component of any European defence, is a very welcome development, as far as we in central and Eastern Europe are concerned.

• And finally, the agreement at NATO’s Hague Summit to boost security expenditure to 5% of GDP is a sign of how seriously we are now taking collective defence. Czechia intends to fulfil the expenditure goal and to meet our NATO capability targets in full.

As I said at the outset, this is a timely meeting. NATO and the EU, respectively, have defined our collective goals, our expenditure and national capability targets. It will take some time, even years, to develop a coherent and credible collective defence capable of deterring Russia from further adventurism, and to guard against any other combination of risks, including China.

Restoring our collective defence is a mammoth task. The defence industry has a key role to play. Lessons are being learned on the battlefield in Ukraine. It is too early yet for the Ukrainians to provide lessons and teach us what works and what doesn't work in terms of defence equipment. What is the best combination of drones, air defence, air power, long-range missiles etcetera? We need to know.  We will have to learn these lessons from the battlefield and apply them quickly, as the Ukrainians and Russians are already doing. I don't think it will be enough for our industry to produce the same old weapons, but in greater quantities, as before. Industry has to be innovative and adaptive.

That is why I welcome this Defence Summit, with this combination of defence and industrial experts. The International Institute for Strategic Studies was the foremost transatlantic strategic institute in the Cold War. It is now the foremost transatlantic strategic institute dealing with the much more complex strategic balance that we have in Europe today. Thank you IISS for your commitment. This conference I hope will be an annual event. There is much to discuss and learn.

I am happy to take questions.