Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský has responded sharply to comments his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, made after the publication of an interview with Czech President Petr Pavel.
Following Pavel’s tweet on Tuesday that said that “China has no reason to play the role of a peacemaker” and that it is “convenient for it to weaken the West”, Lavrov later said such words did not correspond to the activities of a “normal political representative”.
Lavrov is a “clown”, Lipavský, Lavrov’s Czech counterpart, later wrote on Twitter. Russia is a terrorist state, and its leaders belong in front of an international tribunal, he added.
Pavel also reacted, by saying on Wednesday that Russian officials frequently resort to lies and it is pointless to comment on Lavrov’s words, Czech Radio reported.
The Czech Republic has long been at loggerheads with Russia, the exception being former president and great friend of President Vladimir Putin, Miloš Zeman. But since the start of the war in Ukraine, all important state leaders have sided with the war-torn country.
The Czech Republic has now introduced its own sanctions list, which has its first name on it.
“Patriarch Kirill belongs on the sanctions list precisely because faith cannot be used to justify the atrocities committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine,” Lipavský tweeted on Wednesday.
(Ondřej Plevák | EURACTIV.cz)
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