Pavel and Macinka make up: breakfast in New York after weeks of silence

Czech President Petr Pavel and Environment Minister Petr Macinka met over breakfast in New York, where both are attending this week's UN General Assembly sessions. It was the first public contact between the two politicians after a prolonged period of mutual silence.

"We met briefly over breakfast and talked about the UN," Macinka told reporters before heading off to the UN session. Pavel had said almost the same thing shortly before: "We just talked at breakfast, about the same things we're discussing now." According to the minister, the conversation focused on the work of the United Nations and was conducted in a constructive tone.

Different flights, different explanations

The president also commented on the fact that the two politicians travelled to New York separately. "The minister flew on a scheduled flight because he had a different agenda, and if he had flown with us, he wouldn't have made it in time," Pavel explained. The president flew to the US on Sunday aboard a government special aircraft, while Macinka arrived at the same time on a regular commercial flight.

The minister himself attributes the separate flights not only to the difference in schedules but also to a desire to save money on return tickets. According to the president, any additional costs from the minister travelling on his own are negligible.

Conflict over Turek and the NATO summit

The meeting in New York broke a lengthy period without contact between Pavel and Macinka. The disagreement between them arose after the president refused to appoint Motorists party MP Filip Turek as a minister, and was later deepened by Pavel's attendance at the NATO summit in July.

Source: novinky.cz