The first international trip of the president-elect Petr Pavel led to Munich

The 59th Munich Security Conference offered a platform for high-level debates on key foreign and security policy challenges, as well as a space for interesting bilateral meetings of the world leaders. Almost one year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the conference provided an opportunity to evaluate political commitments to the international order and the cohesion of the Alliance. President-elect P. Pavel met, among others, with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and the leader of the Belarusian opposition Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

P. Pavel and G. Nauseda discussed regional security, support for Ukraine, as well as the topics of July NATO summit, which will take place in Vilnius, Lithuania. P. Pavel assured the Lithuanian allies that the commitment to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty is unquestionable. G. Nauseda underlined that "we must push for Russia’s accountability for crimes of aggression" and appreciated "Czechia's firm stance on Russia’s war ?on the issue of Russian war & support to Ukraine".

The meeting with S. Tsikhanouskaya was focused on the growing influence of Russia in Belarus. Among other things, that were discussed was the importance of human rights, democracy, and rule of law, as well as the need to take practical steps to protect them. S. Tsikhanouskaya expressed hope that through joined cooperation she and president-elect Pavel “will protect Belarusian independence & bring changes to the country”.