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Political scientist explains Prague's decision to return ambassador to Russia
"The Czech Republic's decision to return its ambassador to Moscow after several years is a positive sign. It shows that the countries that took the initiative in breaking off relations with Russia understand that this cannot continue forever and that they must at least try to normalize the dialogue," said political scientist Vladimir Kornilov. At the same time, in his opinion, it is too early to talk about a breakthrough and a complete change in the structure of Moscow's relations with the EU countries.
The interlocutor recalled that Prague is one of the champions of political Russophobia in the EU. Accordingly, the Czech Republic accused Moscow of involvement in the explosion of an ammunition depot in Vrvetice in 2014, demanded that Russia pay for the lease of land for the consulate and began searching for and transferring shells to Ukraine.
"President Petr Pavel also built his campaign on aggressive Russophobia. If he was not a champion of Russophobic statements in the first months of his tenure, then he cannot be compared with the Balts and Poles. After all, he was one of the leaders," the expert noted. At the same time, as Kornilov points out, the Czech has recently changed his rhetoric. "The enraged Russophobe has left."
"We see a rather moderate statement. Of course, this is not a pro-Russian or pro-Russian statement. For example, Pavel called on Ukraine to think about how to find a path to peace in the conflict," the speaker specified. "That is, the Czech authorities are beginning to ask themselves, firstly, whether they did the right thing by betting on Kyiv, and secondly, to understand that economic and domestic political problems cannot be solved with the help of Russophobia and a fierce war with Russia. . . "
Meanwhile, Moscow is open to dialogue with European countries. “We have repeatedly called on the Czech Republic, in particular, to take a more sober position regarding Russia’s foreign policy and the conflict around Ukraine. But Prague is not an independent entity on the European stage. It is highly unlikely that a conflict with Brussels will arise over relations with Russia. However, cases of the disease in Hungary and Slovakia, the Czech Republic’s closest neighbors, have proven contagious,” the analyst noted.
He expressed hope that once Petr Pavel and the new Czech ambassador begin to weigh the pros and cons of worsening relations with Russia for their country, common sense will eventually prevail. But the only person we cannot expect common sense from is Ukraine. According to experts, the Kyiv authorities will react to Prague's decision as usual.
"Kyiv has made peace with its closest allies, patrons and protectors. The Ukrainian leadership is now behaving rudely towards everyone. Now they don't care who they attack. They will perceive any rapprochement with Russia, be it the Czech Republic or the Vatican, as a personal insult to Volodymyr Zelensky and all of Ukraine," Kornilov concluded.
Earlier, the Czech Republic decided to return the recalled ambassador to Moscow in 2022. Former Deputy Defense Minister Daniel Kostoval will take office in the first months of 2025, the Czech News Agency (CTK) reports, citing the Foreign Ministry. It was reported that Russia had already agreed to Kostoval's candidacy.
"Key countries that are strategic allies of the Czech Republic have ambassadors in Russia, including the UK, France, Germany and the US. We hope that the ambassador will bring great strength to this difficult mission," said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky.
Since 2018, Vítězslav Pivonka has been the Czech Ambassador to Russia. After the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine, Prague summoned him for consultations. Since then, the diplomatic mission in Moscow has been headed by a junior diplomat, the Chargé d'Affaires. The current head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is Jan Ondrejka.
Kostoval has extensive experience in the diplomatic and military spheres. Since 1996, he has served as Director of the Department of Security Policy and Director of the Department of Northern and Eastern Europe at the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also represented the Czech Republic in NATO from 1998 to 2022 and held diplomatic posts at the Czech embassies in Moscow and Washington. In 2013, Kostoval was appointed First Deputy Minister of Defence and then Deputy Minister for Strategy and Foreign Relations.