Czech media are wondering how to explain the US senator's move. “The reasons are completely unclear”, the news outlet Aktualne.cz wrote. Military analyst and reserve Lieutenant Colonel Martin Koller commented on the US lawmaker’s move.
Sputnik: How do you asses Senator Paul's initiative?
To put our republic in line with orthodox Islamist [sic] states is something on the verge of an insult. It should somehow be addressed, but I don't expect anything from our politicians. The opinion of Senator Paul perfectly demonstrates the influence and honour of the American politician, who, of course, is not alone in this proposal. This reminds me of the poor harvest of 1946, when another clever man, the US Secretary Byrnes (James Francis Byrnes served as US secretary of state in 1945-1947) had the sanctions against Czechoslovakia imposed because of the possible victory of the then Communist Party, led by Gottwald (Klement Gottwald in 1948 became the president of Czechoslovakia — Sputnik) in the elections. He halted imports from Canada.
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Sputnik: At one point, the Czech Army planned to modernise Russian Mi-171 helicopters for special operations. How did that end?
These helicopters can serve the Czech Army for several more years. Czech aviation should use them until they have to be retired, since the pilots and technical staff are already trained for them. The same goes for the Mi-24s. I only hope for a pre-arranged buyer who will buy them at the factory price, and then sell them for a big profit. This would not be the first such case in our country.
The views and opinions expressed by Martin Koller are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect those of Sputnik.