May 13, 2022

Czech Republic Wants to Invite Ukrainian President Zelensky to Prague Summit

Prague Morning

During the presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Czech Republic would like to hold a summit with the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenský, Minister of European Affairs Mikuláš Bek (STAN) said in an interview with ČTK.

According to Mr. Bek, the European summit should be devoted to a key topic, such as energy security, adding that “the government might drop the original plan to stage several events outside Prague, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and economic problems.”

The six-month presidency begins in less than two months, and its agenda is likely to be dominated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and related economic, energy and migration issues.

“We would like the Ukrainian president to be a guest at the summit,” Bek said. The meeting could take place at the beginning of October at Prague Castle.

According to Bek, one of Zelenský’s advisers will arrive in Prague in the coming weeks. He would also like the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olha Stefanishyn, to attend the informal General Affairs Council in July.

Czech Republic to replace Russia on rights body

The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Tuesday for the Czech Republic to replace Russia on the world organization’s leading human rights body following its suspension over allegations of horrific rights violations by Russian soldiers in Ukraine.

The Czech Republic was the only candidate for the seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council. Seats on the Geneva-based council are divided among regional groups and a replacement for Russia had to come from an East European country.

In Tuesday’s secret ballot vote, 180 of the General Assembly’s 193 members deposited ballots. The result was 157 countries in favor of the Czech Republic and 23 abstentions.