AFoCR Sends Letter to the Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Congressional Leadership Expressing Support to Explore a Roadmap to a Fair, Lasting and Swift End to the War in Ukraine.
Letters with identical text were posted to the Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate foreign affairs/relations committees.
AFoCR’s president Roger Kodat, on behalf of the board of directors, sent the following letter:
“On behalf of the Board of Directors of American Friends of the Czech Republic (AFoCR), I affirm our strong support for on-going efforts to explore a roadmap that leads to a fair, lasting, and swift end to the war in Ukraine. The profound tragedy of Russia’s illegal and unprovoked invasion of its neighbor’s sovereign territory three years ago cannot be overstated. We support efforts to end the relentless death and destruction caused by this war.
Our stance is consistent with AFoCR’s 30-year commitment as citizens working to advance a strong bilateral relationship between the United States and the Czech Republic. Since the fall of communism, we have been gratified at how our nations are working closely together on important bilateral and multilateral matters. A central focus of AFoCR is to encourage a strong NATO position that serves, among other things, to counteract Russian aggression. To that end, we lend our support to the United States’ efforts to urge the Czech Republic and other NATO countries to invest greater amounts into their military and play a more important role in securing and sustaining peace in Europe.
We respectfully submit the following six principles that guide our thinking on how a fair and lasting peace might be best concluded.
Respect for Ukrainian sovereignty. Rejection of Russian claims to Ukrainian territory, to include Crimea, taken by force.
Greater European/NATO responsibility to support Ukraine and help deter future wars, with U.S. backup support.
Rejection of Russia’s demand for forced neutrality and de facto disarmament of Ukraine.
Maintain a hold on immobilized Russian sovereign assets and restrictions on technology, and caution on lifting sanctions.
Encourage U.S. and European investment in Ukraine to compensate nations for their prolonged support and to serve as a deterent to future Russian aggression.
Then Czechoslovak President, Václav Havel, spoke to a Joint Session of Congress 35 years ago and stressed the vital role that the United States plays in the world to protect and promote democratic values and the rule of law. We agree that there are many complicated issues that must be addressed in finding a path to peace. We believe that the United States can play a critical role in bringing all parties together to find a fair and equitable way forward, to include Ukraine, Russia, and our fellow NATO countries. As such, we strongly support efforts to advance peace in a manner that ends the carnage and remains consistent with our principles.”