Prague, June 24 (CTK) – Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek (Social Democrats, CSSD) rejected today comparing the European Union with the former Warsaw Pact and life conditions in the former eastern bloc in reaction to a question about President Milos Zeman’s recent statement.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel, who gave a press conference with Zaoralek after their meeting in Prague, said politicians should avoid making similar statements even in a very sharp debate.
Zeman said in his speech he made at the Zofin Forum on the Czech national interest on Thursday that he can see certain similarities between the term limited sovereignty, which was a part of the doctrine of the former Soviet Union’s communist leader Leonid Brezhnev, and the term shared sovereignty, which is coined by the European Union.
He said he can see similarities, not identical features.
“I propose that people who experienced the Warsaw Pact period should be asked whether they think that the past life was identical with the current. I am sure of the answer. Even in a very tense debate, one should avoid making similar statements,” Gabriel said.
Zaoralek said the comparison, if it was made which he does not remember, would be an utter nonsense and that he would have to reject it.
“I believe that there is complete agreement on this in this country,” Zaoralek said.
ms/dr
