Ales Benda, Czech News Agency
Vaclav Havel is the first Czechoslovak President to visit Britain in the post-war years. In terms of present and future Anglo-Czechoslav relations, what do you and your government expect from this visit?
MT
We are all very much looking forward to President Havel's visit. He is greatly respected in Britain and will be very warmly welcomed here, for his courage and his role in bringing Czechoslovakia peacefully to democracy. We have read the President's speeches with admiration for their soaring language and thought. What has made the greatest impression is that, despite all that has happened to Czechoslovakia and to him personally in recent years, he speaks so passionately of reconciliation and hopes for the future: hopes for Czechoslovakia and for Europe as a whole. His visit to Britain, the first by a President of Czechoslovakia since the war, will make a welcome new beginning in our relations.
Ales Benda, Czech News Agency
What are the most important points to be addressed in Europe and what tasks lie ahead for the British and Czechoslovak governments in this respect?
MT
The most important task facing us all in Europe is to sustain and strengthen democracy in Eastern Europe. The changes which have taken place there are historic and must have our support. We are providing help both directly and through the European Community. We in Britain have always regarded Prague, Budapest and Warsaw just as much great European cities as London, Paris and Rome. We want to see the Eastern Europe countries return to play their rightful part in the affairs of Europe as a whole, through the Council of Europe and through closer association with European Community.
In the next months, a very important task will be to deal with the consequences for the rest of Europe of German unification: and by that I mean the confirmation of the borders of a united Germany, her relations with her neighbours, her membership of the European Community, and future arrangements for Europe's defence and security. I believe that the Helsinki agreements will have a very important part to play, in particular in strengthening democracy and observance of human rights. We should be looking at ways to make those agreements more effective. But none of this will be at the expense of the institutions which have kept Europe safe and brought us to our present level of prosperity, NATO and the European Community. They will remain just as vital in the years ahead.