Czech President Says the US Ambassador Is Totally Not Invited to His Castle Anymore

Prague Castle is today the official residence of Czech President Milos Zeman. Long ago, however, it was a place of global import: home to Bohemian kings, Holy Roman emperors, Communist revolutionaries, and even, for one night in 1939, Adolf Hitler.

After German forces occupied Czechoslovakia, the sumptuous castle became the headquarters of Nazi henchman Reinhard Heydrich, also known as "The Blond Beast" and "The Butcher of Prague." Now, 75 years later, Prague Castle is again at the heart of a World War II-themed fracas.

On Sunday, local media reported that Andrew Schapiro, the US Ambassador to the Czech Republic, is no longer welcome in the building — after he criticized President Zeman's decision to attend a WWII commemoration being held in Moscow next month.

European Union leaders have pledged to boycott the Russian commemoration — on account of the country's annexation of Crimea and ongoing destabilizing efforts in eastern Ukraine.

Zeman told reporters that he has "closed the door" to Schapiro and explained why: "I can't imagine the Czech ambassador in Washington would give advice to the American president where to travel. I won't let any ambassador have a say about my foreign travels."

I'm in the U.S. for the holiday weekend. I wake up, turn on computer, and see that a lot happened while I was asleep! — Andrew Schapiro (@AndySchapiro)April 5, 2015

Earlier this year, Moscow sent out invitations to leaders the world over to attend a Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9 to mark the 70th anniversary of Nazi Germany's capitulation.

Those invitations have since been declined by a gaggle of foreign dignitaries, including US President Barack Obama, UK Prime Minister David Cameron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the presidents of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland. Polish President Bronislaw Komarowski suggested that a rival WWII commemoration be held in Gdansk, on the country's Baltic Coast, where a 1939 German invasion kicked off the war.

Merkel will instead visit Russia a day after the memorial, to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Earlier this week, Schapiro said it would "be awkward" for Zeman to attend the ceremony, as he plans to, since he will likely be the only Western leader in attendance. Zeman will stand alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, as a Russian military parade pays homage to Moscow's role in defeating Nazi Germany during World War II, which Russia terms "The Great Patriotic War."

The Soviet Union lost an estimated 20 to 27 million lives during the conflict. Ukraine, then part of the Soviet Union, saw up to a quarter of its population wiped out. So in the past, former American Presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush have opted — in 1995 and 2005 respectively — to attend the annual Victory Day parade on Moscow's Red Square.

Schapiro told Czech journalists that he recognized Russia's contribution to quashing Nazi forces, but insisted that the act of Zeman "standing on a platform reviewing a [Russian] military parade at a time when that military is destabilizing a European nation is not really a good message to send."

On Sunday, Russian state-owned media reported this latest tussle with something approaching glee. "US Ambassador to Czech Republic Frozen Out for Undiplomatic Advice," wrote Sputnik News. Washington is "just panicking because it is apparently failing to isolate Russia," reported Russia Today.

The US embassy has declined to comment on the matter, though Shapiro did issue a statement reaffirming his belief that it would be "unfortunate for President Zeman to be there as perhaps the only EU head of state."

My door remains open to President & all Czech people. Links to my statement (Czech & English): — Andrew Schapiro (@AndySchapiro)April 6, 2015

Also on Sunday, a presidential spokesperson backtracked ever so slightly on Zeman's high-level snub — saying that Ambassador Schapiro could still attend some social events at the castle.

The Czech Republic's bombastic president has denounced Western economic sanctions on Russia, and is seen to be sympathetic to an increasingly isolated Moscow.

Zeman has also referred to the Ukraine conflict as a "civil war," thus downplaying Moscow's well-documented entanglement.

The Czech president's role is largely symbolic — with democratic power resting in the hands of Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka. And Zeman's views are known to be at odds with Prague's Social Democrat-led government.

Indeed, relations between Washington and Prague are otherwise on a firm footing. Just last month, as a US convoy made its way through the Czech Republic — en route to Germany from a Baltic military drill — the Wall Street Journal reported that "Anti-American messages from the Kremlin [have] failed to catch on in the Czech Republic, where locals aren't shunning visiting US troops as forecast by Russian media but instead coming out in droves to welcome them."

Russian state media had previously published a series of articles likening the American convoy's ride-through to a foreign occupation.

Related: Japan is not happy about a Chinese newspaper mocking Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Read more here.

Follow Katie Engelhart on Twitter: @katieengelhart

Photo via Flickr