“NATO’s doors must remain open to new members, including and especially Ukraine,” said Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky during the meeting. It was opened by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who, among other things, presented a proposal for a multi-year financial commitment of the Alliance members to Ukraine, the form of which will be decided by the Alliance heads of state at the July summit in Washington.

At an informal meeting of foreign ministers, the Czech diplomatic chief also raised the issue of a review of NATO’s approach to Russia, which will be discussed by the heads of state at the Washington summit. “Czechia would welcome a consistent strategy to contain Russia within NATO. Part of containing Russia is logically and decisively supporting Ukraine’s right to defend itself against Russian aggression,” said Jan Lipavský. He also mentioned the successful Czech munitions initiative. The first deliveries secured under the Czech initiative will arrive in Ukraine in June and will contain tens of thousands of artillery ammunition.

The informal meeting of the ministers was preceded by a conference on “75 Years of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation” at the Wallenstein Palace on Thursday, 30 May. “NATO remains the strongest guarantee of our security. Only a strong NATO can be an antidote to the chaos that Russia is trying to sow in various parts of the world,” said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský. On the margin of an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers, the Czech diplomatic chief held talks with counterparts from Canada, the US, Denmark and the UK.