On Monday, Czech President Petr Pavel apparently came to the government meeting seeking clarity. However, instead of a clear answer, he left with another date on his calendar after about twenty minutes. The Czech government, led by Andrej Babiš, once again failed to decide on the composition of the Czech delegation to the NATO summit in Ankara. According to Pavel, the Prime Minister repeated that the government would discuss the matter only on June 22nd.

The dispute between the President's office and the government is thus turning into a political tug-of-war, in which the President holds a prepared constitutional complaint, while the government holds the stamp for the delegation. Pavel insists on participating in the summit. He argues that, according to the Constitution, the President represents the state externally, and as the supreme commander of the armed forces, he has his place in security debates. Babiš, on the other hand, claims that the main topic of the summit will be defense spending, which, according to him, should be defended by the government.

After leaving the government office, the President told journalists that the meeting was short because, in his opinion, the problem is simple. "I believe that we should end this long period of speculation, which is not only detrimental to the credibility of the Czech Republic, but also abroad," Pavel said.

At the same time, he recalled that two months ago, he offered the government a compromise. According to him, he would attend the informal part of the summit focused on security in Europe, while the Prime Minister and ministers would attend the official negotiations on defense spending. However, he said he did not receive a response.

Pavel also praised the fact that the government approved him as the head of the Czech delegation to the September UN General Assembly in New York. The government therefore asked that he approach the representation of the Czech Republic at the NATO summit in the same "civilized" manner.

gnews.cz - GH