On Tuesday, 14 October, Zanda Kalniņa-Lukaševica, Deputy Speaker of the Saeima, participated in the international conference “Facing the Odds: Democratic Resilience in Action” in Prague, where she discussed the future of democracy and the threat of global escalation posed by Russia and China.

In the discussion, titled “Preparing for the Double Escalation by Russia and China”, Deputy Speaker Kalniņa-Lukaševica emphasised that Russia’s war in Ukraine has a direct impact on China’s decision-making regarding Taiwan.

“China is carefully observing the international community’s response to Russia’s aggression. If China sees that military intervention leads to serious political, military, and economic consequences, it will be deterred from taking similar action,” said the Deputy Speaker.

During the discussion, Kalniņa-Lukaševica urged the international community and world leaders to intensify pressure on Russia, including by supporting the transfer of frozen Russian assets to Ukraine and halting the purchase of Russian liquefied natural gas. She also called for maximising the military support provided to Ukraine.

“Russia’s war in Ukraine has long since evolved into a war waged by Russia and its supporters against the democracies of the world,” the Deputy Speaker underlined. She further noted that Russia could not sustain such large-scale aggression against Ukraine without the support of China.

The panel, moderated by Jakub Janda, Director of the European Values Centre for Security Policy, also featured Peter Mattis, President of the Jamestown Foundation; Karel Řehka, Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces; political commentator and journalist Konstantin von Eggert; and Reinis Pozņaks, Latvian Member of the European Parliament.

The international security conference “Facing the Odds: Democratic Resilience in Action” was organised by Forum 2000 – an initiative founded in 1996 by former Czech President Václav Havel, Japanese philanthropist Yohei Sasakawa, and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel. The Forum is among the leading global platforms for dialogue on democracy, human rights, and security. This year’s conference focused on strengthening democratic resilience amid rising authoritarianism and growing military tensions worldwide.

Saeima Press Service