Prague, May 17 (CTK) – President Milos Zeman should not use statements that harm the good name of the Czech Republic, the Civic Democrat (ODS) senators said in a resolution they presented to media today.
The resolution is another step within the criticism Zeman has faced in the upper house over his controversial statements, most recently in connection with the Novichok affair.
“The ODS senators’ group is calling on President Milos Zeman to refrain from making statements that harm the good name of the Czech Republic,” the resolution says.
On Wednesday, the Senate committee for foreign affairs, defence and security stated, after meeting the intelligence services’ representatives, that Zeman had interpreted wrongly their conclusions about the presence of Novichok in the Czech Republic.
Referring to the military intelligence service, Zeman said earlier this month that Novichok, a nerve-paralysing substance Novichok used to attack former Russian agent Sergei Skripal in Britain in March, was produced in the Czech Republic last year.
By releasing other data of intelligence services two weeks ago, Zeman endangered security interests of the Czech Republic, the committee said.
Last October, the Senate rejected Zeman’s statements about the Russian annexation of Crimea. In his speech in the Council of Europe, Zeman said the annexation was a fait accompli and advised Ukraine to agree with Moscow on a compensation.
His words were praised by Russian government politicians but met with protests of Ukraine and most Czech politicians.
The Senate said Zeman, with his words, legitimised the Russian aggression that went counter to the international law.
In 2016, the Senate called on Zeman to show restraint in his statements. The senators said the president should neither harm the respectability of other constitutional bodies nor should he jeopardise Prague’s system of values or its commitments as an ally.