Social Democrat leader invites Putin to Prague

The leader of the Social Democratic Party, Jiří Paroubek, has invited Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to visit the Czech Republic if his party (the second-strongest in parliament) wins the early election in October and he is named prime minister. He made the statement in Prague on Friday, a day after taking part in a political convention in Moscow, during which he spoke with Mr Putin. The Social Democrat leader called the potential visit by the Russian prime minister “logical” given the increase in trade between Russia and the Czech Republic. The visit would be Mr Putin’s first as prime minister, although he visited as Russia’s president more than three years ago.

Author: Jan Velinger