Zeman calls Ukrainian PM “war premier”, concedes perceived pro-Russian stance may have cost him support

President Miloš Zeman has described the Ukrainian prime minister, Arseny Yatseniuk, as a “war premier”. In an interview with the newspaper Právo, the Czech head of state said that Kiev was following a two-faced policy, with President Petro Poroshenko representing a “man of peace” while Mr. Yatseniuk wanted to resolve the situation by force rather than accepting a European Commission peace deal. Mr. Zeman said his own perceived pro-Russian position may be one reason he has lost support. He said many poorly informed Czechs wrongly compared the ousting of President Viktor Janukovich to their own Velvet Revolution, and repeated his assertion that the situation in Ukraine is a civil war.

Author: Ian Willoughby