On May 2, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has claimed that officials at the country’s Foreign Ministry advised him to push Kazakhstan to scale back its ties with Russia and China. Speaking to Czech broadcaster TV Nova, Babiš criticized the recommendation, warning it could harm the Czech Republic’s economic interests.
Babiš, a billionaire businessman and populist politician, returned to power in December 2025 after his ANO movement won 35% of the vote in the October 2025 parliamentary election and formed a governing coalition.
The prime minister said he received a briefing note prepared by the diplomatic service. “They handed me a memo saying I should call on Kazakhstan to limit its relations with Russia and China,” he said.
Babiš was vague about the provenance of the memo, describing it as having been drafted by “some officials,” but he suggested that former Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský, a figure associated with the previous pro-Western coalition government (2021–2025), may have been involved in its preparation.
Babiš criticized the foreign policy of the previous administration, arguing that it had damaged the Czech Republic’s economic interests. Relations with several major countries, including China, had deteriorated, negatively affecting business activity, he said.
The remarks followed Babiš’s visit to Kazakhstan on April 28-29, during which the two sides discussed expanding economic cooperation, including supplies of Kazakh oil and uranium. The Czech Republic views Kazakhstan as an important strategic partner, he added.
According to the Kazakh government, bilateral trade between the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan reached approximately $705 million in 2025, a 13% increase on the previous year.
