“It is obvious that the current situation negatively affected our bilateral relations, which are already experiencing difficult times,” he said in an interview with RBC.
At the same time, the Czech Foreign Minister stressed that historical issues relating to the First and Second World Wars should not drive a wedge between the two countries.
“Especially when you consider that in these wars, Russians and Czechs fought and died side by side in the fight against a common enemy,” Petršicek added.
He noted that, of course, there are conflicting topics, such as repression against Czech and Slovak citizens immediately after the war, but called for historians to leave these issues for discussion.
“Our citizens pay me to deal with the future of the country and build mutually beneficial relations with Russia, and not to raise old disputes. Moreover, as they say, two are needed for tango, and without reciprocity on the part of Russia it will be difficult to develop a dialogue, ”the minister said.
Earlier, Petrzycek said that the Czech side proposed the Russian Foreign Ministry in the spirit of the bilateral Cooperation Agreement of 1993 to discuss the current situation in relations, including disputes about the monument to Marshal Ivan Konev.
He noted that "politicizing these topics can be counterproductive."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Russia in connection with the situation around the dismantling of the monument to Marshal Ivan Konev in Prague offers the Czech Republic two-way dialogue mechanisms to protect the monuments.
On April 3, a monument to Marshal Konev was dismantled in Prague. The Russian Foreign Ministry has promised that this action will not go unanswered.
Later, the Czech authorities announced their readiness for negotiations with Moscow on the transfer of the monument to Konev.