Babiš: Relations with Russia frozen but communication necessary

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš says that while relations between the Czech Republic and Russia are currently at freezing point it would be wrong for the Prague and Moscow governments to cease communicating. He made the comment before an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday at which a joint German and French proposal for a meeting of EU leaders and Russia’s Vladimir Putin will be discussed.

Mr. Babiš refused to reveal what position Prague would take on such a summit, saying it would depend on how other EU leaders responded to the idea.

The Czech Republic expelled dozens of Russian diplomats earlier this year after saying that Russian agents had been behind deadly explosions on Czech territory in 2014.