Zeman said he envies Slovakia its euro zone membership. “My only apprehension about the adoption of the euro amid the present stabilisation mechanism is that Czech taxpayers would have to cover the Greek debts. I was very disappointed by the outcome of the [summer] negotiations that were close to ‘Grexit’ but finally resulted in Greece´s remaining in the euro zone,” said Zeman.

The initial reaction by Greece had been given by Foreign Ministry Spokesman Konstantinos Koutras on Friday, who said: “The Czech Republic is a member state of the European Union thanks to Greece as well. No further comment, for the time being.”

After discussions with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias on Tuesday decided to recall Greek Ambassador Panagiotis Sarris to Athens. It is up to Zeman to give explanations regarding his comments for Greek-Czech ties to be improved.