Czech Republic to expel more Russian diplomats

PRAGUE/BRATISLAVA

The Czech Republic announced plans Thursday to expel more Russian diplomats over Moscow’s insistence on expelling Czech diplomats.

Russia had been given until noon today to retract its decision, but this request was not fulfilled, Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek told a news conference.

Noting that the Czech Republic currently has five diplomats in Moscow while there are 27 Russian diplomats in Prague, Kulhanek said they will order a reduction in the number of Russian diplomats serving in Prague to match the number of Czech diplomats serving in Moscow.

He went on to say that their decision would take effect immediately and the Russian side should withdraw most of its diplomats from Prague by the end of May.

Meanwhile, Slovakia also decided to expel three Russian diplomats in response to allegations that Russian diplomats were involved in two huge explosions in 2014 at military warehouses in the town of Vrbetice in the Czech Republic which left two people dead.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry vowed to retaliate.

Diplomatic crisis

On Saturday, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis announced that 18 Russian diplomats had been declared persona non grata over their alleged links to the explosions in 2014.

The diplomats were asked to leave the country within 48 hours.

Russia protested the decision, terming it "unfounded." It recalled that earlier, Czech authorities had investigated the case and found the companies that owned the warehouses guilty.

Britain has said it "stands in full support" of its Czech allies.

A government statement said the two officers of Russia's military intelligence agency the GRU who were charged with the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the city of Salisbury in 2018 were also behind the explosions in Vrbetice.

Following the Czech Republic's deportation decision, Russia announced a day later that it was expelling 20 Czech diplomats.

A statement published on the Russian Foreign Ministry's official website said Czech Ambassador Vitezslav Pivonka was notified that the diplomats had been declared persona non-grata and must leave the country by the end of Monday.

The ministry also demanded that the number of locally hired staffers at the Czech Embassy be reduced to the same level as that of the Russian Embassy in Prague.