Lipavský: Babiš damaged image of Czechia abroad with NATO statement

Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavský has said in an interview with Czech newspaper Seznam Zprávy that he "strongly condemns" presidential candidate Andrej Babiš's statement regarding NATO.

Mr Babiš said in a debate broadcast on Czech television that he would not send the Czech army to assist in the event of a military attack on Poland or the Baltic states, even though these countries are, like Czechia, all members of NATO. Mr Babiš later retracted the statement and said on Twitter that if a NATO ally were really attacked, he would comply with the NATO treaty on collective defense.

Nevertheless, his original statement still caused an international uproar and clearly damaged the image of the Czech Republic abroad, as well as threatening its security, said Mr Lipavský.