Czech PM distances himself from Fico's visit to Russia

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has clearly distanced himself from Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico’s surprise visit to Moscow on Sunday for talks with President Putin. In a statement for the ctk news agency Prime Minister Fiala said that in view of this Slovak foreign policy move, the Czech government’s decision to suspend intergovernmental consultations between the Czech Republic and Slovakia had been prudent.

“Our foreign policy is heading in the opposite direction, which is why we have taken a number of measures over the past two years to wean Czechia off Russian crude oil and gas deliveries," Fiala wrote to the ctk news agency.

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said the Czech government was seeking independence from Russian energy supplies "so that we do not have to grovel before a mass murderer".