Draft foreign policy concept comes under fire

The draft of a new foreign policy concept outlined by the Czech Foreign Ministry and leaked to the press has evoked criticism from opposition parties and the media. According to the weekly Respect, which has acquired the document, the planned changes reportedly include a change-of-guard at ambassadorial posts in London, Beijing, Paris and Washington. The Czech ambassador to Ukraine, who has been criticized by President Zeman, is also to be replaced. The weekly says the new foreign policy concept fails to draw on the legacy of the country’s first post-communist president Vaclav Havel. The Foreign Ministry has refused to comment on the document until it has been finalized and officially unveiled.