Czechia's top diplomat to visit Ukraine as countries 'turn the page' on parliament chairman's controversial remarks
Petr Macinka, Czechia's new foreign minister, will visit Ukraine in the near future, local media reported on Jan. 6, following a controversy surrounding the Czech parliament chairman's statements on the war-torn country.
"Today I spoke by phone with (Foreign Minister) Andrii Sybiha about future cooperation. We clarified the matter concerning the statements of Ukraine's ambassador to Czechia and those of Chairman (Tomio) Okamura, which I now consider closed," Macinka said, according to Seznam Zpravy.
"Further communication will take place through standard diplomatic channels and, if necessary, also on a personal level," Macinka said.
Okamura, the speaker of the lower house of the Czech parliament, stirred up controversy when he used his New Year's address to advocate against his country supplying further military aid to Ukraine.
"We must not give away our citizens' money to foreign nationals simply because military propaganda demands it," he said, adding that Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine was "an absolutely senseless war."
Ukraine's ambassador to Czechia, Vasyl Zvarych, called the statement "unworthy and absolutely unacceptable."
Macinka also reportedly spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart about Czechia's attitude toward Ukrainians living there.
"We agreed that it is our joint task to work to make them more positive. We will soon continue this discussion during my visit to Kyiv," Macinka said.
Sybiha, in turn, said he held "a very substantive and constructive conversation" with Macinka, adding that the two agreed to "turn the page on recent exchanges."
Since the outset of Russia's full-scale invasion, Czechia has stood out as one of Ukraine's most dependable allies, providing heavy weapons, including tanks, multiple-launch rocket systems, and helicopters, and welcoming hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.
However, Czech politics has seen a rise in populist rhetoric over the past few months, with the ANO party, which opposes Ukraine's membership in the European Union and vowed to halt support for Kyiv from the Czech state budget, winning in the October parliamentary elections.
Macinka and Okamura lead ANO's two smaller coalition parties — the anti-environmentalist Motorist party and the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) party, respectively. Okamura has consistently opposed Czech support for Ukraine.
