German Chancellor Friedrich Merz received Czech President Petr Pavel in Berlin on 21 October 2026. At the Chancellery building, the two discussed Czech-German relations as well as foreign and security policy.[1][2]
Pavel was on a two-day working visit to Berlin. A joint press conference was not on the schedule; the president planned to make a statement for Czech journalists. In the evening he was to take part in a round table hosted by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and on Thursday, 22 October 2026, he was to speak at the Berlin Global Dialogue conference. The conference focuses on the links between politics, economics and geopolitics. [1][1][2]
Pavel last visited Berlin in July 2025, when he met with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. After that meeting, Pavel said it had confirmed the exceptionally close relations with Germany. [1][1][2]
Pavel regularly attends the Munich Security Conference, held annually in Munich in February. [1]
Related entries: Friedrich Merz, Petr Pavel
Statement on easing anti-Russian sanctions
On 22 October 2026, in response to a question from the Czech News Agency in Berlin, where he was attending the Berlin Global Dialogue security conference, President Petr Pavel said that easing anti-Russian sanctions could only be the result of a peace process. In his view, only at its end could the restoration of trade relations with Russia follow, and only on condition that Russia returned to respecting international norms.[3][4]
According to Pavel, any concessions in relations with Russia must be balanced by goodwill on the other side, above all Moscow's willingness to negotiate and agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine. If no such willingness is shown, he said, there is no point in considering concessions by the countries that imposed sanctions on Russia.[3][4]
In an earlier interview for the German daily Bild, Pavel said that Russia's social and economic situation was bleak. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin could be persuaded to negotiate peace in Ukraine by an offer of future restoration of economic relations and trade, on condition of a ceasefire in Ukraine.[3][4]
Chronology
- — In Berlin at the Berlin Global Dialogue conference, President Petr Pavel said that sanctions on Russia can be eased only as the result of a peace process and only if Russia shows willingness to negotiate and agrees to a ceasefire in Ukraine. ČTK / České noviny FORUM 24
- — President Petr Pavel held talks in Berlin with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Czech-German relations and on foreign and security policy. ČTK / České noviny FORUM 24
Sources
- ČTK / České noviny — 21 October 2026
- FORUM 24 — 21 October 2026
- ČTK / České noviny — 22 October 2026
- FORUM 24 — 22 October 2026