The former southern Serbian province of Kosovo declared independence in 2008, and was recognised by the government of Mirek Topolanek the same year. Credit: Freepik.
Prague, July 26 (CTK) – The Czech Republic will have an ambassador to Kosovo for the first time, the Foreign Ministry announced yesterday. Bohumil Mazanek, a former ambassador to Lithuania, consul general in Shanghai and Katowice and charge d’affaires in Thailand, will assume the post.
At the same time, the government approved and authorised 25 other diplomats to head Czech embassies abroad, and President Petr Pavel signed their credentials.
The former southern Serbian province of Kosovo declared independence in 2008. The government of Mirek Topolanek recognized its sovereignty the same year, and the Czech Republic’s official position has remained unchanged since then, though former President Milos Zeman proposed that the international recognition of Kosovo should be withdrawn.
Kosovo was over time recognised by more than 100 countries, but some of them later reversed this decision. The sovereignty of Kosovo has never been recognized by Russia or China, or by the EU countries of Romania, Slovakia and Spain.
The Czech Foreign Ministry also announced yesterday that former ambassador to Turkey Pavel Kafka would go to Saudi Arabia, former Chief of General Staff Ales Opata will head the embassy in Lithuania, and former ambassador to China and Britain Libor Secka will become the new ambassador to Spain. The ambassadors are being replaced within the planned summer rotation.
Veronika Kuchynova Smigolova, director of the non-European countries and economic and development cooperation section of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, will replace Martin Stropnicky in Israel. According to earlier reports from Seznam Zpravy, Stropnicky will not continue working in the foreign service.
Eva Dvorakova, director of the ministry’s Eastern Europe department, will become the ambassador to Hungary.
Martin Tlapa, a former deputy foreign minister, will be the ambassador to Canada, while Rene Miko, director of the ministry’s UN and global affairs department, will head the Czech embassy in the Netherlands. Jakub Skalnik, former ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, will become the ambassador to Belgium, Miroslav Toman, former ambassador to North Macedonia, will head the diplomatic mission in Bulgaria, and Martin Klucar, who was previously charge d’affaires in Moscow, will become the charge d’affaires In Japan.
Some ambassadors will move from their current post directly to another diplomatic mission abroad. For example, Juraj Koudelka will go to Malaysia after serving in Saudi Arabia. Josef Koutsky will finish his term in Jordan and start heading the embassy in the United Arab Emirates.
All new ambassadors are now designated, until they hand over their credentials to the head of the host country, which completes their accreditation.
