Greece recalled its ambassador from Prague due to Zeman’s statements
Greece has called on its ambassador to the Czech Republic for consultations in Athens over President Milos Zeman’s remarks to the country. The Athens process is a strong form of protest in diplomacy, and the Foreign Ministry speaks of it as exceptional. According to the Greek television ERT, Athens decided to take this step because the Czech Republic did not revoke Zeman’s abusive statements. Zeman recently spoke about the fact that the Czechia can join the eurozone once Greece’s participation in the group is resolved.
“Mr. Ambassador flew from Prague to Athens today, he was called for consultations,” said Eva Žižková from the Greek Embassy in Prague. “It was a decision of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” she added. The embassy confirmed that Ambassador Panajotis Sarris had left Prague because of Zeman’s statement about Greece’s eurozone membership last Tuesday. Considering the Czech Republic’s accession to the common European currency, the President regretted that the Greeks remained in the eurozone. He says he does not want Czechs to pay Greek debts after the introduction of the euro.
The Czernin Palace confirmed Athens’s move. Ministry spokeswoman Michaela Lagronová said that the head of Czech diplomacy, Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD), wanted to call his Greek counterpart, Nikos Kotzias, to ask him about the reasons for the Greek decision. According to Lagronová, Zaorálek will join Kotzias on Wednesday around noon.
Greece has previously submitted a protest note
Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Konstatinos Kutras told AFP that Greece had already filed a protest note with the Czech Republic over a series of anti-Greek statements by Czech officials. “But nothing has changed, so we moved on to the next stage (protest steps),” said Kutras.
According to the Greek server Tribune.gr, Athens is now one step ahead of a complete severance of diplomatic relations. Referring to Greek diplomatic sources, the portal states that relations between the two countries can improve again if the disputed statements are “corrected”.
According to ERT, Greece was displeased that statements against Greece were repeated. Athens’ patience was surpassed by Zeman’s latest statement to the Slovak news agency TASR, which said, among other things, that the Czechia would enter the eurozone the first day after Greece left. Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman Konstatinos Kutras said on Friday that “the Czech Republic is a member of the European Union also thanks to Greece.” on that day, he allegedly received the first signal to correct these statements in the following days, which “are not in accordance with the relations of members of one (European) family”.
“Kutras: Nothing has changed, so we moved on to the next stage“
“But nothing has changed, so we moved on to the next stage (protest steps),” Kutras told AFP. According to ERT, this step is also a signal for other Central countries, namely Slovakia and Hungary, European countries, also made anti-Greek statements.
According to the Greek media, Athens is now one step ahead of a complete severance of diplomatic relations. Greek diplomatic sources note that relations between the two countries can improve again if the disputed statements are “corrected”.
The castle did not want to comment too much on Greece’s progress. “In any case, for diplomatic reasons, I will not comment on the step itself,” said Jiří Ovčáček, a spokesman for the head of state. However, he paused that Greece was taking a step now, even though Zeman had expressed himself in a similar way in the past. “As far as the President’s opinion is concerned, it has been said repeatedly in recent months. The President insists on this opinion, he will continue to present in public, “said Ovčáček.
Disappointment at the outcome of the negotiations
Zeman did a week ago in an interview with the Slovak agency TASR to the situation in the euro area. “My only concern about the introduction of the euro in the current form of the stabilization mechanism is that the Czech taxpayer would pay Greek debts. I was very disappointed with the outcome of the negotiations, which almost went to the so-called Grexit and ended up with Greece remaining in the eurozone, “said the Czech president.
The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs commented on the words of the Czech president on Friday. “The Czech Republic is also a member of the European Union thanks to Greece,” said a ministry spokesman.
Greece is said to have summoned the Czech ambassador to Athens over Zeman |
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In recent days, the Greek Foreign Ministry summoned the Czech ambassador to Athens to give him “tough recommendations” on how Prague should treat Athens. It thus responded to President Miloš Zeman’s “offensive” statements against Greece. At the same time, Athens is demanding an official apology from Prague. CNN Greece reported on this, referring to “safe sources” from diplomatic circles.
According to television, Greek-Czech relations reached a “freezing point” after Zeman’s statements, and with the recall of the Greek ambassador to the Czech Republic, they also reached the worst level ever. The withdrawal of the ambassador was approved by the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, with whom the head of Greek diplomacy Nikos Kotzias consulted. According to CNN Greece, Athens now expects an official agreement or full revocation of these statements from the Czech Republic. The Greek Ministry of Viticulture concludes the Czechia, as well as other Central European countries out of aggressive attitudes towards Greece, in which it sees a racist context. |
Ambassadors of countries such as the DPRK, Iran and Serbia have previously withdrawn from the Czech Republic |
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– In October 1993, after a diplomatic rift, the Czech Republic decided to abolish the embassy in North Korea’s Pyongyang. However, contacts were not interrupted but suspended. North Korea she also recalled the ambassador from Prague, but was always present diplomatically. The Czech Embassy in the DPRK was reopened in 2004, and the North Korean ambassador returned to Prague in June 2002.
– He recalled his ambassador from the Czech Republic in 1998 Iran due to the launch of the Prague radio station Rádio Svobodná Evropa / Rádio Svoboda (RFE) in Iran. The Prague office has since been headed by a lower diplomat. The Czechia responded with the same step. – In November 2002, she called Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs its ambassador to the Czech Republic for consultations. This happened after the Czechia did not grant Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko a visa to attend the NATO summit in Prague. – Belarusian authorities testified in January 2005 by Czech diplomat Pavel Křivohlavý due to alleged violations of the law. The Czech side called the action of the Belarusian authorities a propaganda of an undemocratic regime. In response, the Czech Republic fired a Belarusian diplomat and called on Prague for consultations with the head of the Czech embassy in Minsk. – She withdrew in May 2008 Serbian diplomacy Ambassador Vladimir Veres back to Belgrade to protest the Czech government’s decision to recognize Kosovo’s independence. Vereš returned to Prague after two months and diplomatic relations returned to normal. – Czech Ambassador v Canada Karel Žebrakovský was called to Prague for consultations in July 2009 after the renewal of visas for Czechs. He returned to Ottawa in August of that year. |
Zeman caused a stir by “finalizing” Ukraine or his views on Islam |
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– “My first criticism the current EU is moving towards a so-called soft policy that reminds me of appeasement in the 1930s. The main task of foreign policy is to fight international terrorism… We know from the history of appeasement that Hitler, Mussolini and others are stronger and stronger at any stage of negotiations. ”(Lecture at Humboldt University in Berlin / June 27, 2013)
– In early October 2013 the president caused a stir over the possibility of the relocation of the Czech embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The statement irritated Palestinians and representatives of the League of Arab States (Zeman later explained his words that the move should take place only after the settlement in the Middle East). – “Muslim fanatics recently captured 200 young Christian girls in Nigeria. And in May Europe, the recent assassination attempt at the Jewish Museum in Brussels is at the heart of the EU. I will not be reassured by the statement that these are only small marginal groups, but rather that this xenophobia and, say, racism or anti-Semitism stem from the very essence of the ideology on which these fanatical groups are based. ”(Lidové noviny ). – “One of my acquaintances He said that the Ukrainian conflict and civil war is something like the flu. But there is a disease that almost no one talks about. We close our eyes and I think it’s just journalists’ concern that it’s just propaganda. And this danger is posed by the Islamic State. “(Speech at the Dialogue of Civilizations on the Greek island of Rhodes / September 26, 2014) – “I think so The most important thing to understand is that in Ukraine there is simply a civil war. We must not deal with any dreams about the ceiling, including economic support for Ukraine, because in the conditions of the civil war, economic support is completely nonsense. ”(Interview for the Russian television station První kanál / November 17, 2014). – “As for Ukraine, I am of the unchanging opinion that its neutrality and its so-called finlandisation should take place. “(interview with Czech journalists during a visit to Kazakhstan, November 25, 2014; CTK note: finlandisation part of its sovereignty and opts for neutrality in order to discourage a stronger neighbor from including it directly in its sphere of influence (based on the relationship between the Soviet Union and Finland after World War II). – “I can not imaginethat the Czech ambassador in Washington would advise the American president where to travel. And Zeman criticized the American ambassador to the Czech Republic Andrew Schapir, who provided reservations about the president’s trip to Moscow on the anniversary of the end of World War II. Zeman said that the American ambassador Schapiro has its doors to the Castle closed (April 5, 2015). – Turkey should not be part of the European Union (EU), Zeman said, adding that although Turkey is a member of NATO, it sometimes behaves as if it were an ally of an Islamic state. Zeman also criticized the EU’s plan to pay Turkey three billion euros to detain two million refugees on its territory. (meeting with citizens in Kadan / 9 December 2015). – “My only concern The introduction of the euro in its current form of stabilization mechanism is that the Czech taxpayer would pay Greek debts. I was very disappointed with the outcome of the negotiations, which almost went to the so-called Grexit and ended up with Greece remaining in the eurozone. ”(For the Slovak news agency TASR / December 15, 2015). |