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Defence Minister Jana Černochová met with Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto

Ministry of Defence & Armed Forces of the Czech Republic

4.9.2024
Author: by MoD Press Section

The Czech Ministry of Defence hosted a meeting between the Defence Minister Jana Černochová and her Italian counterpart Minister Guido Crosetto. The topics they discussed included the support of Ukraine, NATO's defence and deterrence following the Washington Summit, security situation in Africa and in the Middle East, Czech-Italian defence industrial cooperation, the F-35 project and cooperation on war graves.

Defence Minister Černochová highly valued the Italian assistance to Ukraine that is facing a Russian aggression, and mentioned in this regard the Czech ammunition initiative and the use of proceeds from immobilised Russian assets for the country under attack. The Ministers also debated the recent NATO Summit in Washington, D.C.

"The Summit sent out a clear signal that our defence is strong. But it is also clear that we need to do much more. Likewise, NATO needs to adopt a new strategy on Russia which has already waged a war against the West by attacking in the cyberspace and sponsoring terrorist and arson attacks in our countries. In the south, Russia is igniting threats in Africa and in the Middle East," said Minister Černochová. She added that Russia turned Africa into a geopolitical battlefield and was undermining Europe's strategic interests there.

From the perspective of defence industrial cooperation between the Czech Republic and Italy, the acquisition of the F-35 fifth generation fighter aircraft will mark an important milestone. As a matter of fact, half of the total of 24 fighters to be acquired will go through the Final Assembly and Check-Out facility in Cameri, Italy. Once the fighters are operated by the Czech Air Force, the FACO will also be where possible upgrades, modifications, retrofits and maintenance of airframes and some other component of F-35 fighters will take place as part of the Global Support Solution. According to Minister Černochová, the Czech Republic is also ready to discuss cooperation with Italian industries, including Leonardo, which plays a key role in the European defence industry.

There is also an untapped potential for developing bilateral cooperation in the care for war graves, for instance as concerns the restoration of the war graves of Austro-Hungarian soldiers who originated from the present territory of the Czech Republic and died in the territory of Italy. During World War I, several dozen thousand Czechs served in the ranks of Austro-Hungarian Army there, and the Czech Republic stands ready to participate, including financially, in keeping up the graves of those who died in Italy.