Czech Republic expels 18 Russian diplomats, excludes Russia from nuclear deal
A policeman walks past a poster attached by protesters to a door of the Russian Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic on Friday, April 16, 2021. AP - Petr David Josek
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The involvement of the Russian secret service in the explosion of a Czech arms warehouse in 2014 is now proven, according to the Czech government, which as a result will not only expel staff members of the Russian embassy, but also exclude Russia of a nuclear tender.
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With our correspondent in Prague,
Alexis Rosenzweig
The revelations of this weekend mark a new turning point in the turbulent history of Czech-Russian relations, with an investigation the conclusions of which would establish the responsibility of the GRU, the Russian military intelligence service, in an explosion that made two deaths among Czech workers at an arms warehouse in October 2014, in Vrbetice in the east of the country.
According to the Czech press, the explosion was planned to occur elsewhere than on Czech soil and destroy weapons presumably sold to Ukraine by a Bulgarian intermediary, himself poisoned the following year.
Rosatom eliminated from major tender
The details of the investigation are to be made public Monday April 19 in Prague, but the Czech police have already launched a
search notice
with the photos of two Russian citizens already suspected of having participated in the Novichok poisoning of
Sergei Skripal
in England in 2018.
The
unusually well-staffed
Russian embassy in Prague
will have to return 18 diplomats appointed by the Czech authorities to Moscow, who have indicated that another consequence of these revelations would be the automatic elimination of Rosatom of an important call for offers for the construction of a new reactor for the Dukovany nuclear power plant.
Negotiations scheduled for next week for the potential importation by Prague of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V have also been canceled.
Moscow promises "retaliatory measures"
Russia denounced Sunday as a "
provocation
" the expulsion by Prague of 18 Russian diplomats.
“
We express our strong protest to the Czech authorities.
We will take retaliatory measures that will allow the perpetrators of this provocation to become fully aware of their responsibility in destroying the foundations (...) of relations between our countries,
”the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Describing the decision of the Czech authorities as "
unprecedented
", Moscow denounced "
unfounded and far-fetched
" accusations leveled against its diplomats.
Moscow points to the "trace of the United States" in this Prague process
“
This hostile move is a continuation of a series of anti-Russian actions taken by the Czech Republic in recent years.
We can only see traces of the United States there,
”continued the ministry.
"
In an effort to please the United States in the context of recent US sanctions against Russia, the Czech authorities have even overtaken their overseas masters in this regard,
" he added.
(
and with AFP
)
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