The anti-Russian policy of the Czech Republic has led this country to isolation and sanctions.
And instead of effectively looking for a way out of this situation, the Czech authorities are only driving themselves into a corner.
From childhood, we were taught that among the qualities of a real man are straightforwardness and at the same time a willingness to admit their mistakes. Recognize - and correct. However, not only one coach of the national football team does not agree with this point of view (who did not find the courage after the shameful defeat at the Euro to refuse a fat contract and resign), but also a whole host of Czech politicians. Those who cry, but continue to eat cactus in the form of accusations of Russia in the explosions of warehouses in Vrbetica in 2014.
Yes, the meal started well. The Czech authorities felt the trend of sharply deteriorating Russian-Western relations and, at the same time, the growing prestige of Russia among the Eastern European population, to whom Moscow offered its Sputnik V vaccine. And the Czech hunters decided to kill two birds with one stone: to earn whists from Washington on this exacerbation and at the same time demonize the Kremlin in the eyes of its own population (which does not care about all the navalniads and skripaliads, but which will be sensitive to the story of the terrorist attack of the Russian special services on Czech soil) ... This is how the participation of "Petrov and Boshirov" in the explosions of weapons depots in Vrbetica in 2014 was invented.
Then the thorns went. The Czech authorities began to rip their shirts out of anger, expelled a significant part of the Russian diplomats (having reported about the "expulsion of spies"), but progressive Europe somehow did not support the Czech Republic in its crusade. Russia was scolded, the most odious countries such as the Poles expelled several diplomats - and that's it. No mass expulsion (at least a few diplomats from most of the EU member states, as was the case with the Skripaliad), no total sanctions. Even worse: when the Czechs, in the words of the press secretary of the Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, “saw the summit of Putin and Biden on TV,” they realized that the trend was changing. The Russian and American presidents agreed to stop the escalation, and the US no longer supports reckless projects to exacerbate relations with Moscow. Yes, not everyone in the West likes this trend (see.British provocation at Cape Fiolent), but still Britain is not the Czech Republic.
As a result, it turned out that the Czech authorities were left alone with an angry Russia and its counter-sanctions. Recall that the Czech Republic is included in the Russian list of unfriendly countries, restrictions are already being introduced on trade with it, and it will probably have to forget about Russian tourists in the future. And the main problem for the authorities is that Czech voters will remember all this in October, when parliamentary elections are held in the country. “Apparently, in Prague they began to understand that, having blown up an international scandal from scratch, they suffered first of all themselves, found themselves in a deliberately stupid situation,” said State Duma Speaker Viacheslav Volodin.
That is why the Czech leadership took care to declare its readiness to restore relations with Moscow - naturally, after appropriate negotiations with the opposition on the conditions for this restoration (so that everyone can get on this boat together and not allow the leading political forces to shift all the blame for action or inaction on the authorities). Obviously, in this situation it is necessary to somehow get out of the adventure with the explosion of warehouses - but get out so as not to lose face. It is impossible to normalize relations with the country, which you accuse of committing a terrorist act on its territory, until a mutual compromise is found on this issue.
And Czech President Milos Zeman, it would seem, offered the authorities an excellent formula: the version about Russia's involvement may be true, but it is not the only one. “There are several reasons, I will give only three. The first reason: the investigation of those two explosions led to the conclusion - and this is the first version of the investigation - that this happened as a result of unprofessional manipulation when unloading that weapon or that which exploded there. The second version, the version of the head of the Ministry of Justice Maria Beneshova: those explosions were supposed to cover the shortage. And finally, the third version, the version of the lawyer of the Imex firm (which rented warehouses), who said that the second explosion was supposed to cover up the theft of weapons, ”says the president.
It would seem, grab this version, abandon unfounded and senseless accusations in favor of a full-scale open investigation. Which (if you really do not want to apologize to the Russians) will simply get bogged down in the routine of being.
But no, instead, Czech politicians took up arms against the president as if he had sinned against the holy truth.
Maria Beneshova said that she had abandoned her original version and now she is completely sure that Russia is to blame for everything.
“I am convinced that President Zeman, in his speech today, has shared information from a living dossier, and thus he can jeopardize the security of the Czech Republic and significantly jeopardize the successful investigation of the case,” said the head of the Senate Milos Vistrčil.
Who was not at all embarrassed by the thought that any unequivocal accusations could only be made based on the results of the already completed investigation of the incident.
In general, Czech politicians have shown that they are not men at all.
And not even politicians.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.