Press Advisories

8. 3. 202219:08

The V4 prime ministers discussed the situation in Ukraine with the British Prime Minister and agreed to reduce the energy dependence on Russia

Prime Minister Petr Fiala attended a meeting between V4 leaders and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London on Tuesday, 8 March 2022. The main topic of the meeting was European security in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Prime Minister then discussed in bilateral negotiations with Boris Johnson mutual relations between the two countries, defense cooperation and trade.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala headed to London for a meeting focused primarily on the Russian aggression in Ukraine. The Czech Prime Minister began his visit to London with a meeting with other prime ministers of the Visegrad Group countries. “We need to move forward together as countries of the Visegrad Group. States that are strongly affected by the consequences of the war or the Russian aggression in Ukraine. We need to continue to move forward in a common position, looking for ways to manage some of the impacts, be they energy prices or the refugee crisis that our countries are facing. And, of course, the security challenges that lie ahead of us and the whole Europe,” the Prime Minister said.

Subsequently, the prime ministers of the V4 countries met with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The meeting focused on the mutual cooperation and progress in addressing the Russian aggression in Ukraine. They agreed to closely coordinate a joint action against the Russian aggression, including sanctions. In view of the development in Ukraine, the energy situation in Europe was also an important issue of the meeting. “Together with the other V4 prime ministers and Boris Johnson, we have agreed to continue to strengthen our cooperation in the field of cybersecurity. We also agreed that we must reduce our energy dependence on Russia and continue to act together against the Russian aggression in Ukraine,” the Prime Minister concluded.

In the afternoon, Prime Minister Fiala met with Boris Johnson for a bilateral meeting. The prime ministers discussed the current situation in Ukraine. They also discussed issues of Czech-British relations, including defense cooperation and trade. The UK is currently one of the Czech Republic's leading trading partners. The British market is one of the largest for Czech exports.

“Our meeting was very friendly. I consider Britain an important partner both for the countries of Central Europe and, of course, especially for the Czech Republic. Our relations have been very close for a long time. We talked about relations between the Czech Republic and Great Britain and that we have a lot to build on. We also discussed the cooperation between the two countries, for example in the field of military collaboration, and the upcoming Czech presidency of the Council of the European Union,” Petr Fiala added.

In addition to the meeting, the Czech Prime Minister also visited the Battle of Britain Memorial where he laid a wreath to honour the memory of the airmen who gave their lives in the defense of Great Britain during the Second World War.