U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday called upon the young democracies of central and Eastern Europe to embrace their hard-won freedoms as they face threats from Russia, China and others while seeing backsliding closer to home, including in Belarus.
America's top diplomat said the rise in authoritarianism was not an abstract trend focused on far-away capitals such as Moscow and Beijing but was apparent also in Europe and its backyard, notably in Belarus, which has been wracked by unrest since its disputed presidential election Sunday.
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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday called upon the young democracies of central and Eastern Europe to embrace their hard-won freedoms as they face threats from Russia, China and others while seeing backsliding closer to home, including in Belarus.
“We will continue to speak about the risks to the Belarusian people,” Pompeo said. “We want them to have freedom in the same way that people do across the world.” The Trump administration has been criticized for its own approach to human rights, but Pompeo said the United States would remain firm and constant in its support for the rule of law and fundamental freedoms.
Pompeo’s speech to the Czech Senate came on the second day of a four-nation tour of the region dominated by U.S. concerns about European energy dependence on Russia and about security in advanced Chinese-owned telecommunications networks. In his remarks, Pompeo took particularly hard aim at China, which he said was an even bigger threat to democracy than Russia.
“The CCP is already enmeshed in our economies, in our politics, in our societies in ways the Soviet Union never was,” he said.
Milos Vystrcil, left, President of the senate, points to a door as he welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of Europe. Slovenia, Austria and Poland are the other stations of the trip. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right behind podium, attends a meeting of the senate in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of Europe. Slovenia, Austria and Poland are the other stations of the trip. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, speaks during a meeting of the senate in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of Europe. Slovenia, Austria and Poland are the other stations of the trip. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, and the Prime Minister of Czech Republic Andrej Babis, right, address the media during a press conference as part of a meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of Europe. Slovenia, Austria and Poland are the other stations of the trip. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a joint press conference as part of a meeting with the Prime Minister of Czech Republic Andrej Babis in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of Europe. Slovenia, Austria and Poland are the other stations of the trip. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek, Pool)
“We see that authoritarianism didn’t die in 1989 or in 1991. The storm was still there. It was simply over the horizon. While we wrote the epitaph on those types of regimes, we now know that it was premature,” Pompeo said in a speech to Czech lawmakers. He and Czech Prime Minister Andrej Bibas, at a separate event earlier, had denounced the postelection violence and repression in Belarus.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, center, smiles as he arrives for a meeting of the senate in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of Europe. Slovenia, Austria and Poland are the other stations of the trip. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek, Pool)
“We will continue to speak about the risks to the Belarusian people,” Pompeo said. “We want them to have freedom in the same way that people do across the world.” The Trump administration has been criticized for its own approach to human rights, but Pompeo said the United States would remain firm and constant in its support for the rule of law and fundamental freedoms.
The administration has sought to improve long-strained relations with Belarus, and when Pompeo visited the country in early February, he was the first secretary of state to do so in 26 years. The U.S. recently nominated the first ambassador to Minsk in a decade.
Taking a strong line, Babis said recent events in Belarus were “unacceptable.” “It was shocking to see what has happened,” he said. ”To see something like that happening in Europe is so shocking so close to us. It is scandalous."
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, speaks during a meeting of the senate in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of Europe. Slovenia, Austria and Poland are the other stations of the trip. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek, Pool)
Pompeo’s speech to the Czech Senate came on the second day of a four-nation tour of the region dominated by U.S. concerns about European energy dependence on Russia and about security in advanced Chinese-owned telecommunications networks. In his remarks, Pompeo took particularly hard aim at China, which he said was an even bigger threat to democracy than Russia.
“Russia continues to seek to undermine your democracy, your security through disinformation campaigns and through cyberattacks,” he said. “It’s even tried to rewrite your history.”
Pompeo, however, said that “even more of a threat is the Chinese Communist Party and its campaigns of coercion and control. In your country alone, we see influence campaigns against your politicians and security forces, the theft of industrial data that you have created through your innovation and creativity, and we've seen the use of economic leverage to stifle freedom itself.”
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, takes place to sign the golden book prior to a meeting of the senate in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of Europe. Slovenia, Austria and Poland are the other stations of the trip. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek, Pool)
“The CCP is already enmeshed in our economies, in our politics, in our societies in ways the Soviet Union never was,” he said.
Pompeo told lawmakers that they are right to resist Chinese attempts to assert economic and political leverage over them. He noted several recent developments in which China has threatened Czech officials with retaliation for showing support for Taiwan, Tibet and Hong Kong.
The Senate president plans to visit Taipei later this month despite China's objections, a move that Pompeo applauded. “Good on him," Pompeo said. "China’s world dominance is not inevitable adding."
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, and the Prime Minister of Czech Republic Andrej Babis, right, speak during a press conference as part of a meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of Europe. Slovenia, Austria and Poland are the other stations of the trip. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek, Pool)
Milos Vystrcil, left, President of the senate, points to a door as he welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of Europe. Slovenia, Austria and Poland are the other stations of the trip. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right behind podium, attends a meeting of the senate in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of Europe. Slovenia, Austria and Poland are the other stations of the trip. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, speaks during a meeting of the senate in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of Europe. Slovenia, Austria and Poland are the other stations of the trip. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, and the Prime Minister of Czech Republic Andrej Babis, right, address the media during a press conference as part of a meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of Europe. Slovenia, Austria and Poland are the other stations of the trip. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a joint press conference as part of a meeting with the Prime Minister of Czech Republic Andrej Babis in Prague, Czech Republic, Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Czech Republic at the start of a four-nation tour of Europe. Slovenia, Austria and Poland are the other stations of the trip. (AP PhotoPetr David Josek, Pool)