The Russian Foreign Ministry recalled that the demolition of the monument to Konev violates the Russian-Czech agreement on friendly relations and cooperation of 1993, according to which the governments of Russia and the Czech Republic are obliged to ensure the safety of military monuments and look after them, as well as provide access to them.
“References to the provisions of domestic law, as well as to decisions of local authorities, as an excuse for not fulfilling the contract are unacceptable ... The question of who owns the monument does not matter in this context,” Zakharova emphasized.
According to her, the issue of dismantling the monument to Konev should have been resolved through bilateral consultations.
“We urge partners to return to the full implementation of the obligations arising from the mentioned agreement, are ready for a substantive dialogue with the Czech side on this issue, which, of course, aggravates bilateral relations,” the diplomat concluded.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that the statements by the Czech authorities that the provisions of the Russian-Czech treaty were not violated after the demolition of the monument to Konev - “from the evil one”.
The Czech Foreign Ministry said that "the movement of the monument is not a violation of any of the existing international treaties between the Czech Republic and Russia."