Presidents of Russia and the Czech Republic discussed the future of European sanctions

Russian President Vladimir Putin received Czech President Milos Zeman in the Kremlin. The Czech President became the only European Union leader who arrived in Moscow on May 9 and held a bilateral meeting with Putin. Most of the EU leaders boycotted the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II in Moscow this year due to Russian intervention in Ukraine.

“You know that we did not initiate a cooling in relations with Europe,” Putin told Zeman. “But I hope that thanks to politicians like you, we could restore relations not only to what they were before, but we can also move forward.”

Zeman has long been sympathetic to Russia, but his position stands out especially now, at a time when most European Union leaders distance themselves from the Kremlin because they disapprove of Russia's behavior in Ukraine.

Czech President named western sanctions, imposed on Russia by "nonsense" and controversial claims by NATO and Western governments that Russian soldiers are fighting in Ukraine.

“I fully believe that the sanctions are short-term ... I publicly protested against the sanctions,” Zeman said.

In accordance with the political structure of the Czech Republic, the government, not the president, controls most of the levers in foreign policy. The Czech government adheres to the European line on how to deal with Russia.

Allies of the Czech president say his position stems from a sincere belief that isolating Moscow is counterproductive and that commercial ties with Russia are vital to the Czech economy.