Babiš and Pavel travel separately to NATO leaders' dinner as Czech delegations remain apart throughout the day

PM Andrej Babiš and President Petr Pavel travelled this evening to the informal leaders' dinner at the NATO summit in separate motorcades, despite departing from the same hotel. The arrangement reflected the broader pattern of the day in Ankara, where the Czech prime minister's and president's delegations largely operated independently. The situation stems from a months-long dispute between the government and the head of state over who should represent the Czech Republic at the Alliance's key summit.

The unusual Czech representation at the NATO summit also drew international attention. U.S. broadcaster CNN noted the arrival of two separate Czech government aircraft carrying the president and the prime minister, attributing it to what it described as an "obscure domestic political dispute." According to the government, the use of two aircraft was justified by security considerations, while the Presidential Office argued that the trip could have been made using a single plane.