Marking 100th year of Turkish-Czech friendship
Jan Lipavsky
I am very happy to visit Ankara exactly one hundred years since our countries entered diplomatic relations. For me, this is a great opportunity to pay homage to our Presidents and founding fathers, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, who oversaw the birth of our friendship treaty and diplomatic relations in 1924.
A century later, Türkiye remains our long-standing partner, and a highly important one in many respects. We, Czech diplomats, are taking special care to develop this relationship.
Tomorrow, I am to visit the Grand National Assembly. It is not commonly known that the crystal chandeliers lighting the building since the 1950s were manufactured in a small Czech town, Kamenický Šenov. The chandeliers were badly damaged in the 2016 coup attempt. We promptly renovated them and replaced the destroyed ones. This gift, a symbol of our solidarity with Türkiye’s people, was delivered by my predecessor.
In the eight years that have passed since his visit, Czechia and Türkiye have doubled their trade exchange to reach more than six billion euros, which again shows the dynamics of our relationship. Türkiye has always been a major player in our trade and investment, but in recent years, this cooperation has truly flourished. Czech and Turkish companies are entering into strategic partnerships across many sectors and they work together to gain a foothold in third markets. Our trade relations have bright prospects full of opportunities and continued growth.
In the European Union, Czechia is a strong voice for positive development of relations with Ankara. Türkiye is the Union's crucial partner, and the Union is a crucial partner for Türkyie. An even closer cooperation in diverse areas – trade, security, or foreign policy – would make both of us stronger and bring us even closer together. Both of us should do as much as possible to build up the EU-Türkiye relationship.
We have been allies in NATO for 25 years. In today's times of global and regional crises, I believe it is fundamental for all allies to cooperate and to maintain a united stand.
Europe is now faced with a challenge; the biggest one it has seen in recent decades. This challenge is Russia's imperialism. For more than two years now, Ukrainians have been standing courageously in defense against the brutal Russian aggression, and they need our help. I would like to thank Türkiye for assisting Ukraine. I greatly appreciate that. Indeed, by helping Ukraine, you help Czechia and other European countries targeted by Russia’s hybrid attacks – and unless the Russian tanks are stopped, perhaps we are the next to be invaded. As aptly noted by our former President, Václav Havel, following the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia, Russia's problem is that it does not know exactly where it begins and where it ends. Let us all do everything we can to ensure that the Russian expansionism does not prevail.
*Jan Lipavsky is the Foreign Minister of Czech Republic. He penned this article for the Hürriyet Daily News on the occasion of his visit to Ankara on June 24 and 25.
