Archive: Foreign policy | Czech-American relations Czech-American relations
President Klaus looks back on US-Czech relations ahead of 4th of July
Ahead of Independence Day in the United States, President Václav Klaus
visited an event at the American embassy this week. As he noted, it was the
last such occasion that he would attend as head of state, and he took the
opportunity to look back on relations between the Czech Republic and the US
over the course of his two terms in office. More
Shared destinies: Kissinger and Dienstbier meet in 1964
The early 1960s saw dramatic developments in the Cold War, with the
building of the Berlin Wall and then the brinkmanship of the Cuban Missile
Crisis. But there were also signs of a greater pragmatism in East-West
relations. One channel for dialogue was a series of international
gatherings, where scholars and public figures discussed how to reduce the
risk of armed conflict. These were known as the Pugwash Conferences, named
after the town in Canada where the idea was first launched back in 1957. In
September 1964, one such conference was held in the Czech spa town of
Karlovy Vary. More
Prime Minister Petr Nečas to meet US President Barack Obama
Czech Prime Minister Petr Nečas is on a brief working visit to the United
States where he will be meeting with US President Barack Obama later on
Thursday. The agenda of Mr Nečas’ first visit to the Oval Office will be
dominated by the multi-billion tender to expand the Czech Temelín nuclear
power plant, in which the US firm Westinghouse is one of the bidders. More
Czech-US relations: like a 20-year-old marriage without sex, envoys say
In this edition of Czech history, we look at the development of
Czech-American relations over the past two decades. Ever since the fall of
the Iron Curtain, they have been the pivot of Czech foreign policy. But
after the euphoria of the Velvet Revolution and the era of Washington’s
fascination with Václav Havel, these relations today are like a 20-year
old marriage with no sex – at least according to some current and former
diplomats who appeared in Friday’s debate hosted by the Foreign Ministry. More
US Ambassador to Prague Norman Eisen discusses 9/11 & the War on Terror
Ahead of the upcoming tenth anniversary of 9/11 on Sunday, Czech Radio’s
Martina Mašková interviewed the US Ambassador to Prague Norman Eisen. In
the interview the ambassador is asked about Czech cooperation in the War on
Terror, CIA renditions at Czech airports, and al Qaeda. Mr Eisen begins
first though by discussing the attacks on that fateful September day,
including where he was when the first plane hit. More
Krtek tours Czech Republic after return from space
The Czech cartoon character Krtek, or Little Mole, has been given a
hero’s welcome back home after spending two weeks in space. The American
astronaut Andrew Feustel, who took Krtek to space aboard the Endeavour
space shuttle, arrived in Prague last week with his family, and is now
touring the Czech Republic with Krtek to promote science and technology
among young Czechs. More
US ambassador Norman Eisen looks back at his first five months in Prague
Czech-American relations are going “from good to great”, according to
the US ambassador to Prague Norman L. Eisen who will soon complete his
first five months in the Czech Republic. Mr Eisen has been working to shift
the focus from missile defence, a top priority during the era of President
George W. Bush, towards cooperation in nuclear energy, commerce and the
fight against corruption. In an interview for Radio Prague, Ambassador
Eisen looks back at some of the developments of the past five months. More
Czech foreign minister concludes week-long US visit
The Czech foreign minister, Karel Schwarzenberg is winding up his week-long
trip to the United States. At a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton in Washington on Thursday, the officials agreed to start
negotiations on a new investments protection treaty between the two
countries. Mr Schwarzenberg, with a number of Czech entrepreneurs in his
entourage, also promoted Czech IT and film industries during his US trip. More
Confidential material from US embassy in Prague included in WikiLeaks release
Czech-US relations have been caught up in the massive release of secret US
diplomatic cables by the WikiLeaks server. One of more than a thousand
cables from the US embassy in Prague already put up on the whistle
blower’s server provides a snapshot of how Czech and US diplomats began
to recast their relations after the US dumped its plans for an anti-missile
base in the Czech Republic. More
Ex-US ambassador accuses high-ranking Czech government official of corruption
Former US ambassador to the Czech Republic William Cabaniss has accused
Czech ex-deputy defence minister Martin Barták of soliciting a bribe. The
daily Mladá fronta Dnes quoted Mr Cabaniss on Friday as saying that in
2008, Mr Barták asked for “millions of dollars” for his assistance in
solving problems the Czech truck maker Tatra had with a commission for the
Czech army. Mr Barták, who now serves as deputy finance minister, has
denied any wrongdoing. More
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