Czech PM claims Syria and other world major crises can't be solved without Moscow
The Czech Prime Minister has vowed to come to terms with Russia, saying “everyone” is willing to do business with a country whose contribution is essential to solve pressing international issues, and Syria is not an exception.
“Everybody would like to do business with Russia,” Prime Minister Andrej Babis told Slovakia’s Pravda newspaper when asked to comment on current bellicosity between Moscow and the West. “Somehow it has to be resolved. Russia is there and will remain there,” he stated.
Babis believes coming to terms with Moscow is crucial to tackling major international crises. “[Working] with Moscow, we should look for a way out of Syria. And the situation in Syria is of great concern to Europeans.”
Prime Minister Babis, a billionaire and the Czech Republic’s second richest man, owning an agricultural giant in Agrofert as well as a media empire, said he welcomes the Italian government’s calls to lift anti-Russia sanctions. Earlier in July, Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said his country will take the matter to Brussels by the year’s end.
“The new Italian government wants to lift these sanctions. Let's see how it develops,” Babis commented. He noted that “the issue of sanctions will be negotiated by the Council of the European Union,” but chose not to elaborate on the issue.
Babis has already served as Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, but was forced to resign due to allegations of financial misconduct. He was separately charged over allegedly misusing EU subsidies. Babis dismissed all the allegations, calling them “politically motivated.”
He is not the first Czech leader to champion reconciliation with Russia. President Milos Zeman told Vladimir Putin at one of their meetings: “On one fine day, [the sanctions] should be dealt with.”
Zeman said that Russia is apparently “10 times more important” for the Czech Republic than, for example, France. At the time of his visit, 10 times more businessmen accompanied him on his visit to Russia than to France.
The European Union initially imposed economic sanctions in 2014 over Moscow’s reunification with Crimea and alleged involvement in the Ukraine crisis. Sanctions targeted Russia’s financial, energy and defense sectors, and were extended to some government officials, businessmen and public figures.
In July this year, Brussels prolonged the penalties for six months until the end of January 2019. The decision prolongs the ban on doing business with Russian banking and financial institutions and new energy projects
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