Czech President to chair EU-Russia summit

Czech President Václav Klaus will represent the Czech Republic at the EU-Russia summit to take place in the far eastern Russian city of Khabarovsk in May, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has announced. Mr Schwarzenberg said Mr Klaus’ role representing the country, currently at the head of the rotating EU presidency, had been discussed at the end of last week, before the government’s fall. Mr Klaus has taken a different stance from the outgoing government over relations with Russia. Most notably, he blamed Georgia for provoking hostilities in its breakaway regions ahead of the short-lived conflict between Georgia and Russia in August.