Slovak Prime Minister Fico Sparks Diplomatic Scandal During Visit to Czech Republic
The visit of the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, to the Czech Republic turned out to be scandalous and nearly ruptured relations between the countries. Dissatisfaction with the behavior of the Bratislava representative was expressed in Prague.
This was reported by Novinky.cz.
It is noted that Fico proposed a date for the visit that did not suit Czech President Petr Pavel. It also did not fit the heads of the upper and lower chambers of parliament, Milos Vystrčil and Marketa Pekarova Adamova.
For several days, Pavel pondered whether to agree to the visit. Eventually, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová persuaded him to make a concession.
However, in the Czech Republic, Fico met with retired officials.
The publication reports that the Prime Minister of Slovakia arranged meetings with former Presidents Miloš Zeman, Václav Klaus, and the head of the opposition movement 'ANO 2011,' Andrej Babiš, who supported him in the pre-election campaign.
The publication's source reports that such behavior diplomatically is entirely unacceptable.
"During his first visit to any country, a prime minister should meet with the president and prime minister, not with the opposition leader or former president," explained the source.
President Pavel was unhappy with Fico's behavior.
It is noted that President Pavel was saddened that Fico did not make any friendly gestures towards the Czech Republic.
"He acted as if he didn't care," the publication's source stated.
According to them, the date proposed by Fico suited only Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala. The Slovak Prime Minister ignored the fact that the three highest constitutional officials in the Czech Republic had a different and more important agenda.
Moreover, Fico made a controversial statement about Ukraine in the Czech Republic.
It was previously reported that Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico stated that the war in Ukraine is a 'frozen conflict,' allegedly impossible to resolve by sending weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Fico also said it would be better if the Russian and Ukrainian sides sat down at the negotiating table. He did not specify how this could be achieved.
As reported by The Gaze, this month, Czechs and Slovaks united and raised 400,000 euros within a week to purchase a Black Hawk helicopter for the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.