Foreign Minister Gideon Saar met in Prague with his Czech counterpart Petr Matzinka, who said after the meeting that "we will not allow further sanctions against Israel in the European Union — even if it means we'll have to block them on our own." According to him, "there are ongoing attempts in the European Union to introduce new sanctions against Israel. The Czech Republic will stand by Israel from this moment forward." Saar added that "we are witnessing an attempt by certain left-wing governments in Europe to drag the European Union into a radical anti-Israel stance. These hostile governments are damaging strategic relations with the only democracy in the Middle East."