Europe Asia News

Czech President Petr Pavel said the 70th anniversary of the Hungarian Uprising was an opportunity to thank everyone who had tried to free their country from Soviet domination. Pavel emphasized that the courage shown by the Hungarian people deserved respect, even though their aspirations for freedom were suppressed by tanks at the time.

Pavel argued that Moscow had still not abandoned the belief that it could impose its will on sovereign states. He stated that Russia remained prepared to use military force to advance its power interests in Ukraine today, just as it had done in Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Georgia in the past.

Pavel noted that this was why they defended every nation's right to decide its own future.