A Czech Presidential candidate Andrej Babiš caused controversy when he questioned his country’s possible assistance to its closest NATO allies in a live broadcast debate. The moderator of the debate asked Babiš whether he would send Czech troops into an open conflict if Russia attacked Poland or the Baltic countries, Babiš replied, “Of course not. I think we need to talk about peace.” This statement was immediately criticized by top Czech politicians, including Vice Prime Minister Marian Jurečka who apologized to all the citizens of Poland and other allies, he said that the commitment that comes from the Czech Republic’s membership in NATO is and will remain in place, despite what Andrej Babiš said. After the debate, Babiš tried to clarify his statement, saying that he did not want to answer a hypothetical question about invading Poland or the Baltics, and that if an invasion were to actually take place, he would comply with Article 5 of the NATO alliance. The final phase of the Czech Presidential election is taking place on Friday and Saturday.

Article by Prague Forum