Prague - Czech foreign policy is divided. Yet again.
On Wednesday, the government has approved a proposal of Foreign Affairs Minister Karel Schwarzenberg to recognize Kosovo.
Read more: Govt recognized independent Kosovo. Not unanimously
Afterwards, President Václav Klaus had invited Serbian ambassador to Prague, Vladimir Vereš, to speak with him. In his article published in MF DNES daily, the president wrote that he "had felt ashamed" during the meeting.
Klaus has opposed the recognition of independent Kosovo for a long time.
"I hoped that by quickly inviting the Serbian ambassador before his involuntary departure, I would make at least a little signal to the people in our country as well as in Serbia that nothing has changed in the attitude of Czechs toward Serbs," wrote Klaus.
"No other choice than recognition"
Serbian ambassador in Prague was recalled by Belgrade almost immediately after the Czech Republic decided to recognize Kosovo.
Read more: Serbia recalls its ambassador in Prague
"I honor the president's opinion," said Karel Schwarzenberg to MF DNES daily. "I too regret that the Serbian ambassador is leaving, but our government had no other choice than to recognize Kosovo," added minister.
"Munich betrayal"
In addition to Klaus, there are Social Democrats (ČSSD) and Communist Party (KSČM) members that oppose the government's latest step.
Ministers of the Christian Democratic Party (KDU-ČSL) had also voted against the proposal.
Communist party member even linked the recognition of Kosovo to the infamous "Munich betrayal" in 1938, when Western European powers decided that frontier regions of what was then Czechoslovakia were to be given to Nazi Germany, Hungary and Poland.
