Czechs Sided With UK on Skripal Case to Show 'Loyalty to West' - Diplomat

© Sputnik / Alexey Filippov / Go to the mediabankA sign of Salisbury District Hospital where former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia are treated
A sign of Salisbury District Hospital where former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia are treated - Sputnik International
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In May, the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Jana Reinisová, became the chairperson of the OPCW's Executive Council. Reinisová will hold this post from 2018 to 2020. Will the Czech Republic help promote a more objective investigation of the Skripals' case and alleged chemical attack in Syria?

Sputnik discussed this with former Czech diplomat and publicist Jiří Baťa.

Sputnik: The Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Ambassador Jana Reinisová will take over the chairmanship of the Executive Council of this organization. What do you think of this?

Jiří Baťa: I know little about Ms. Jana Reinisová. Considering her personal involvement in the negotiations on the accession of the Czech Republic to the EU (back then she was the deputy director of the department for coordination of relations with the EU and the director of the Department of the Internal Market and Regional Policy), she may be considered a strong supporter of the EU. On whose initiative or recommendation Ms. Reinisová was appointed to this position is unknown, so I cannot comment on this, it would be tactless and incorrect.

READ MORE: Skripal Case No Longer the Case: How Russia May Turn Into EU's Darling Soon

Sputnik: Can the Czech chairmanship effectively help in the investigation of the Skripals' case and chemical attack in Syria?

Jiří Baťa: I have great doubts about providing "effective help" into the Skripals' investigation, and there are several reasons for that. As I said before, Ms. Reinisová will continue to show loyalty to the EU and will continue to defend the interests of the European Union, even when the United Kingdom leaves the EU.

Our foreign policy is conducted in the spirit of comprehensive Western cooperation, mutual support of the goals of the US administration, as well as the geopolitical goals of NATO managed by the US establishment. Please note that none of the EU or NATO countries formally made any statements, not in defense of the Russian side, and not casting any doubt about the fact that Russia may not be the main actor in these cases.

READ MORE: Czech Defense Minister Fires Head of Institute Where A230 Was Allegedly Tested

This means that the member states of this organization will be, at best, neutral, but they are unlikely to be ready to contribute to the "effective" investigation of the Skripals case. They are not interested in the real details of the case and the logical conclusions to which one may come to, on the contrary, they have accepted the illogical and misleading arguments of the affected party, that is, the UK.

The balance of force in this investigation is unfavorable for the defendant's side, that is for Russia and its pragmatic defenders. In the Czech Republic many intellectual and pragmatic people support Russia in this conflict because they are able to think logically, but our main political trend within the framework of the international (Western-oriented) policy is not to logically understand the problem, but to once again show loyalty to the UK, simply because we are an indivisible part of NATO, which results from the hypocritical principle of collegiality - if one of NATO's members is attacked, this means that the entire NATO organization has been attacked.

READ MORE: Skripal Visited Estonia in 2016 to Meet With Local Intelligence - Reports

The above also applies to the chemical attack in Syria, although, it would seem that these two events are completely incommensurable in terms of scale, or in their consequences. In the case of chemical attacks in Syria, we will continue to show our loyalty to the side that continues to express its hypocritical fears about the threat of Syrian chemical weapons, despite there being facts that contradict these fears.

Sputnik: So you don't think that the Czech presidency can guarantee the impartiality of the organization?

Jiří Baťa: As I mentioned above, our representation in international bodies is aimed at showing loyalty to Western policy. I am afraid that the Presidium itself, with the above-mentioned chairman, will have only symbolic significance. Therefore, it does not matter at all whether the representative of the Czech Republic or the Lower or Upper Volta is presiding over the organization, since, as a rule, the plenum plays the crucial role.

READ MORE: Reports: Skripal Visited Prague, Later Met With Czech Special Services in the UK

Considering the unstable and the not so secure international geopolitical situation (for example, the planned and still uncertain US-DPRK summit, the escalating situation in Israeli-Palestinian relations, Turkey's negative reaction to events in Palestinian territories, etc.) to have illusions about the fundamental influence of our presidency in this organization, and even on the impartiality of the organization itself, perhaps, is too naive.

The views and opinions expressed by Jiří Baťa are those of the expert(analyst, speaker) and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.

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