Czech Republic President Petr Pavel positioned Europe as a key ally for the United States and urged increased American support for Ukraine during a talk at the Harvard Kennedy School on Wednesday.
Speaking before an audience of hundreds at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum, Pavel accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of seeking to reassert a Russian sphere of influence over Central and Eastern Europe and “overturn the post-Cold War international order.”
“The alliance of democracies must answer the alliance of autocracy, not only with military strength, but with unity of purpose and clarity of vision,” Pavel said. “And in that effort, there is no more natural ally of the United States than Europe.”
He urged continued backing for Ukraine’s long-range attack capabilities against Russia, describing them as a necessary counter to aggression. The Biden administration first authorized the use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles in November, and the Trump administration approved the sale of more than 3,000 long-range missiles to Ukraine last month.
“As President Trump rightly observed, it is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader’s country,” Pavel said.
His remarks came as part of the second Václav Havel Lecture on Human Rights, Civil Society, and Democracy, hosted by Harvard’s Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies. The visit was accompanied by metal detectors and increased security in and around the forum.
Pavel used his visit to Harvard to portray the Czech Republic as a reliable partner to the U.S. and a contributor to shared defense efforts. Since his first term, U.S. President Donald Trump has distanced the U.S. from NATO — whose members he accused of freeloading off of U.S. spending — and periodically mused about pulling out of the alliance. In July, NATO agreed to raise its contribution requirements for member states to 5 percent of GDP by 2035, a move that Trump hailed as a “big win.”
He emphasized that the Czech Republic had met its current 2 percent contribution requirement and was committed to hitting the 5 percent target within the decade.
On Wednesday, Pavel acknowledged Trump’s history of tension with NATO, saying Trump was “right” to demand higher payments from NATO countries during his first administration, when some member states were not meeting the 2 percent threshold.
“Everyone was shocked, because we were not used to that kind of behavior,” Pavel said, “but the message behind it was absolutely right. That means that we have to equally share the very good, equally share the responsibility. And this is what NATO started very quickly doing.”
Pavel also touted the Czech Republic’s aid to Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 invasion, including taking in more than 400,000 refugees and delivering millions of rounds of large-caliber ammunition.
“Almost immediately, Czechia emptied its military house and stores to deliver vitally needed equipment, including heavy armor,” he said, adding that individual citizens “have contributed hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars in humanitarian aid, food, and medicine.”
Pavel’s comments on Ukraine reflected those he made days earlier while leading his nation’s delegation at the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sunday, where he also called for broader global support for Ukraine and warned of Russia’s aggression.
