
New Year’s Address of the Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský to the Diplomatic Corps in Prague
16.01.2025 / 11:48 | Aktualizováno: 17.01.2025 / 12:49
Czernin Palace, 16 January 2025
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
A very warm welcome to the Czernin Palace. It is my great pleasure to see you all here on this festive, traditional occasion.
We are meeting here at the dawn of an eventful year. A year that will present us with number of risks and challenges. Some of them are new, and some of them, unfortunately, are known only too well. Hopefully, we will be able to turn some of those challenges into opportunities.
Next month, we will mark three years since Ukraine was brutally invaded by Russia. The whole of Europe – and ultimately the entire international community – is feeling its effects. Last year, on this very occasion I voiced my skepticism about the willingness of the Russian dictator to seek peace. I wish I was wrong. I was not. The destruction of Ukraine and of the international order by Moscow and its allies continues. Russia proved to be ready to take more risks.
Instead of willingness to end the bloodshed, we have seen other countries lining up behind Russia and helping it to continue this war. North Korea has sent its troops to Ukraine and joined the aggression. Its soldiers are gaining direct combat experience, which can be then easily used elsewhere. Thus,Russia´s war can be exported to other parts of the world. It is a prove that this conflict is not limited to Europe. It has and will have worldwide security effects.
Ladies and gentlemen,
This year we will commemorate 80 years since the adoption of the UN Charter. We must not let Ukraine down. If Ukraine is defeated, the UN Charter, and international law are defeated. Instead of a celebration, we would mark the demise of the Chapter. The logic that “might is right” would prevail with dire consequences for the international community. No country may be genuinely neutral to this conflict.
Russia’s aggression is not the only critical point on the world map. The escalation in the Middle East is a source of our major concern, the risk from spillover of the ongoing conflicts remains high.
The collapse of the Bashar al Assad regime is, however, a sign that even in the darkest hour there is hope for a better future. We do not know yet what lies ahead for the Syrian people, that has suffered so much over the past 13 years. The transitional government of Syria has an opportunity to start rebuilding the country in a spirit of cooperation and inclusion of all segments of Syrian society. If it chooses that path, it will have all the support of Czechia and the EU.
For years, we have been observing the multilateral system getting weaker. Czechia is ready to be part of a solution. We want to work together on a more effective and inclusive multilateral system that is able to address the challenges we face.
Czechia has just started another term on the Human Rights Council. We wish all the best to the Swiss presidency. We know what it takes to lead the Council and offer our full support. We have been elected a member of the Executive Council of the OPCW – an important international body given its role in the investigation of the use of chemical agents by the former Syrian regime and Russia. We pursue our candidacy for non‑permanent membership of the Security Council for the term 2032‑33.
My country, me personally, we are dedicated to international dialogue. Last year, I visited many of your countries and met many of my counterparts on the margins of the multilateral fora. I will continue those exchanges this year, despite it being an election year for us.
The main message is that we need to work together on a more effective and inclusive multilateral system that can address the challenges we face.
To these debates, Czechia brings two topics I want to briefly mention.
Firstly, our human rights-based foreign policy. We firmly believe that protecting human rights contributes to international security and limits the emergence of security threats. It has a positive impact on the growth of prosperity. On the contrary, as is the case of Putin’s Russia, states that violate human rights of their citizens will not adhere to the rules in international relations. In the final analysis, they are a threat to other states and to the global community.
Secondly, the Czech national and the EU sanction regimes. These are aimed exclusively at the grossest biggest violators of the UN Chapter and international law. We make sure that sanctions are "tailor‑made" so that they do not harm third countries and their legitimate economic interests. We call on all countries that reject aggression as an instrument of foreign policy to join us in the economic isolation of Russia.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me conclude by thanking you all for being here today. Czechia prides itself on maintaining close and most friendly ties with many countries all over the world – and you deserve special credit as representatives of those countries.
I highly appreciate the work you do here in Prague. I truly cherish our friendship and partnership and I look forward to our further cooperation.
May this year be a happy one!