Czech-Russian trade rising despite political disputes - ambassador

The Czech Republic and Russia have a minimal political dialogue, but for all political disputes and sanctions over the Ukrainian conflict, their economic cooperation is developing, Czech Ambassador to Russia Vitezslav Pivonka told CTK on Tuesday. Czech companies are traditionally successful in engineering, and trade in agriculture is developing, too, Pivonka said. To be successful on the Russian market, it is vital for Czech companies to have a part of their production on Russian territory. "At present, we are in a situation in which we have a minimal political dialogue," Pivonka said. "The last meeting of foreign ministers took place in 2005. There are no consultations on the level of foreign ministries. We can say that there is no communication within defence and interior ministries either," the ambassador said.