Czech foreign minister attends emergency NATO summit

The Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg has called the Russian invasion of Georgia a violation of international law. The comments came as he attended an emergency summit of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels designed to address the current crisis in Georgia. The Czech Foreign Minister also pledged to persuade the Czech government to provide 150 million crowns in aid for Georgia. The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also attended the summit, pressing European countries to adopt a tougher line against Russia. One proposed measure was freezing the six-year-old NATO-Russia Council, which unites 27 governments for discussions about issues such as international security and counter-terrorism. However, members at today’s meeting pulled in various directions – with some favouring a tougher line, while others urging caution against “knee-jerk” reactions. The Czech Republic is believed to favour a tougher line against Russia. Following the meeting, Condoleezza Rice is set to visit Warsaw to sign a missile-defence agreement with that country – a move which Russia believes is a deliberate provocation.

Author: Dominik Jůn