Czech President Milos Zeman has accused US intelligence agencies of embarrassing themselves with warnings of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"In my view, there will be no war, because the Russians are not crazy enough to get involved in an operation that will do them more harm than good," the 77-year-old told Thursday's edition of the MF Dnes newspaper.
For the US intelligence services, he said, it was the "third embarrassment" after statements on alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and misjudgements in the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
As a consequence, Zeman called on NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to resign.
Stoltenberg's term of office expires in September.
Good relations with Moscow
Zeman maintains good relations with his counterparts in Moscow and Beijing.
In autumn, he was in hospital for weeks, officially because of complications from one of his chronic illnesses. During this time, Zeman condemned the idea of temporarily declaring him unfit for office as "a kind of coup attempt."
His second term in office is due to end in March 2023.
