Prezident Zemans insists on inviting Ukraine’s Yanukovich

Czech President Miloš Zeman has rejected calls to cancel an invitation for Ukrainian head of state, Vitkor Yanukovich, to visit the Czech Republic. Several hundred people including director Jiří Menzel and singer Jaroslav Hutka, have signed an appeal to Mr Zeman, asking him to cancel the visit planned for April. They would also like the Czech president to demand Ukraine return to democracy and rule of law. However, Mr Zeman’s spokesman said the Czech president had no plants to cancel the invitation, made during his visit to Kiev last October. He also said Mr Zeman prefers a dialogue will all sides.

President Zeman’s approval rating up

President Miloš Zeman’s approval rating reached 42 percent in January, according to a poll by the CVVM agency released on Monday. That is 1 percent more than in the previous month but much less than last April when 61 percent of those polled said they trusted the president. The most trusted institutions are mayors and local councils, with an approval rating of 61 percent. Some 10 percent of people surveyed said in January they were satisfied with the political situation, which was 7 percent more than in the same period last year.