Václav Klaus is a Czech politician. He performed as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the annulment of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he acted as the second and last prime minister of the Czech Republic. Based on his political career and persistent statements regarding Russia, he appears to be favourable and an admirer of the Kremlin.
During his period, Klaus sought collaboration with Russia on issues including energy policy. In the 1990s, Klaus encouraged renewed oil and gas contracts between the Czech Republic and Russia and opposed Czech endeavours to develop other energy sources. In March 2006, Klaus was depicted by The Economist as one of Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s “warmest admirers abroad”. Klaus was bestowed the 2007 Pushkin Medal by Putin for the advancement of Russian culture. It was indicated that this was partly due to his usage of the Russian language when speaking to Putin and Russian diplomats.
According to him, the ongoing dispute between Moscow and Kyiv is the result of a series of missteps made by the US and its NATO allies. He also claimed that Moscow had not intended to occupy Ukraine when it undertook its military operation in February 2022 but merely aimed to prevent it from joining NATO.
On 9 September 2014, in a discussion with Czech radio station Radio Impuls, Klaus stated that Ukraine is an artificially constructed state and that the Russian intervention in the country was part of a civil war. He persisted by describing Maidan as an
“artificial event produced by the West and the United States”
in which Russia was compelled to intervene. He added that in his opinion, Ukraine lacks the robust ties to keep the country together.
Vaclav Klaus, former president of the Czech Republic, has said he is ashamed of the current leadership’s policies towards Russia, in particular, the expulsion of Russian diplomats.
“That we, [the Czech Republic] are barking at one of the world powers, makes me feel ashamed and dismayed and extinguishes any desire to try to do anything in this country [Czech Republic],”
Klaus told the Blesk Daily in an interview, published on Friday.
“I see this as evidence [of the current condition] that our country is incapable of having any sensible foreign policy at all.”
In 2021, Czech officials claimed the expulsion of 18 staff associates of the Russian Embassy in Prague supposed to be officers of Russia’s intelligence services. In reaction, Klaus condemned his country’s action and criticised the statements by Czech officials concerning the blasts at the Vrbetice ammunition warehouses in 2014 and their allegations that Russian intelligence agencies were allegedly behind the incident. He said that the eviction of a group of staffers from the Russian Embassy in Prague was a clear sign that the Czech authorities were aiming to score points with Washington and NATO.
