President Rivlin thanked President Zeman for his warm hospitality and for the Czech Republic's support of Israel, and said, "It is an honor to be celebrating 25 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries and honoring a very long history of close friendship between our people."

The President went on to say, "I want to thank you, the Czech people, for your support during difficult periods experienced by Israel. Even today, when Israel finds itself all too often attacked in the international arena, the staunch and clear moral stance of the Czech Republic against the use of violence, terrorism or unilateral Palestinian moves stands out. You have stood tall in your assistance of the defense of Israel by both your words and by your actions. The State of Israel appreciates the good relations that exist between the Jewish community and the general public in the Czech Republic, and we are aware of the real actions taken against the new anti-Semitism."

The Czech President thanked President Rivlin and said, "I am very pleased to welcome you here in Prague. The most important fact to the deepening of the relations between the two countries is the common history that we share."

The Czech President addressed the bilateral cooperation between the countries and said, "I am pleased we have reached an agreement on the strengthening and further development of trade between the two countries. I am pleased that together with President Rivlin, many businessmen from Israel have joined this visit, with whom I will meet as well. We agreed that in light of the fact that Israel is a technological giant, our deepening cooperation will predominantly be in the fields of innovative technologies. The Czech Republic can offer good investments in technology, biotechnology, and in other fields. I am also happy to see our cooperation in the field of tourism between our two peoples."

The Czech President stressed the two countries' struggle against the threat of fundamentalism and said, "Our two countries are making a great effort to stand up to the threat of fundamentalism, which Israel faces directly. We are currently facing a clear projection of extremism – which has manifested itself as a civil war."

At the end of a statements, the two Presidents answered questions from the journalists who were present.

President Rivlin was asked to refer to the statement made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the previous evening regarding the meeting between Hitler and the Mufti of Jerusalem, and replied, "I am not proficient in the details noted by the Prime Minister last night. Because I would like to get this right, I will go to the sources and see the details there. There never was, and never shall be, a person who caused such a human tragedy as Hitler did, and the worst chapter in the Jewish tragedy." The President went on to emphasize, "I would like to add, and emphasize that Israel was not established as a compensation for the Holocaust. The fact is that my family immigrated in 1809 because they thought the Land of Israel is the homeland of the Jewish people and we must live in our homeland."

The President was then asked by the Czech media about the security situation in Israel, and in Jerusalem in particular. He said, "Jerusalem is united and is the capital of Israel, and these are the facts. Jerusalem is a microcosm of our ability to live together. We believe that we, Jews and Arabs, are destined to live together and not that we are doomed to live together. To understand this you must rebuild trust."

The President noted in particular the religious tensions on the Temple Mount, and said, "Israel has not declared war on Islam. Israel is prepared to give every believer the ability to pray according to their own faith. The agreement of the status quo on the Temple Mount was signed and we maintain it. We maintain it, word for word and letter and letter, as signed between Rabin and King Hussein. There is no intention or desire to change that." 

In addition he noted, "The impact of the Islamic State in the region at the moment, can be seen in the desire to turn the conflict into a religious war. We maintain the agreement carefully and I regret the attempts to exploit the situation in order to declare war on every Israeli citizen. We are all together in this situation, we do not differentiate on the streets of Israel, who is a Jews or who is a Muslim."
President Rivlin reiterated, "Unfortunately every initiative we seek to raise to bring a resumption of talks is rejected by the Palestinians. Prime Minister Netanyahu called for a renewal of negotiations - despite difficult disagreements - which Israel is prepared to renew. But the other side needs to be a partner for negotiations. We do not agree and will never agree to preconditions to negotiations."

The Czech President was asked by an Israeli reporter about the recent statement by the Czech Foreign Minister, who said it would become more difficult to continue to support Israel, and whether this was indicative of the erosion in relations.

"There is no change in our policy," said the Czech President, "The proof is in a joint cabinet meeting of the two countries. There is no other country we have joint meetings with."

The Czech President was also asked by the Czech media about collaborating with Israel in the fight against the Islamic State. He replied that the Czech Republic had observers on the Golan Heights and representatives in the Sinai Peninsula, and said he would be happy if within international forums Israel would support a UN proposal to establish an international unit focused on the fight against terrorism. He also stressed that he believes that the Security Council and the permanent members should to be more active in this fight.