Pavel questions Macron audience with Babiš, dismisses “peace conference” idea

Presidential candidate Petr Pavel says a visit last week to French President Emmaneul Macron in Paris by his rival for head of state, Andrej Babiš, was a marketing move. Speaking on Czech Television on Sunday, Mr. Pavel said it was not standard procedure for the president of democratic country to grant an audience to a presidential candidate from another state just a few days before elections.

The former Czech Army chief of staff also questioned Mr. Babiš’s suggestion that he could host a Ukraine “peace conference” at Prague Castle, pointing out that the ANO leader had not attempted to organise any such meeting following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, when he was Czech prime minister.