Pavel tells Babiš to back claims over NATO summit row or retract them

President Petr Pavel has challenged Prime Minister Andrej Babiš to either provide evidence for his claims that the president is harming Czechia's interests abroad and interpreting the Constitution as he sees fit, or withdraw the remarks, the Presidential Office said on Thursday.

The response came after Babiš told Deník.cz that Pavel's attendance at next week's NATO summit in Ankara would damage Czechia's interests abroad and accused the president of interpreting the Constitution to suit himself. He argued that the summit would focus on economic and defence spending issues, which are the government's responsibility rather than the president's.

The government had initially excluded Pavel from attending the summit, but the Constitutional Court later ordered it to ensure the president could take part. Babiš will lead the Czech delegation, while Pavel maintains that protocol dictates that the head of state should head it.