The Czech government announced Thursday, April 22, that it would cap the size of the Russian diplomatic mission, following a crisis in relations between Prague and Moscow which saw dozens of diplomats expelled this week, from both sides.
Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek said Russia will have until the end of May to reduce the number of staff at the Russian embassy, in order to bring the staffing levels of the two embassies back to par.
The Czech Republic has already expelled 18 Russian diplomats and Moscow retaliated by expelling 20 Czech diplomats on Monday, following accusations from Prague of Russian secret agents' involvement in a deadly 2014 explosion on Czech soil.
>> To read also: Czech diplomats, Ukraine, Navalny: increasing tensions between Moscow and Brussels
The Czech representation in Moscow now has only 5 diplomats and 19 other auxiliary members, while Moscow currently has 27 diplomats and 67 other staff at its embassy in Prague.
"In accordance with Article 11 of the Vienna Convention (on diplomatic relations), we will limit the number of staff of the Russian Embassy in Prague to the actual number of that of our embassy in Moscow," said Jakub Kulhanek to reporters.
The minister gave Moscow an ultimatum on Wednesday to allow 20 expelled Czech diplomats to return to work at noon (10am GMT) on Thursday, saying they had done nothing wrong.
"Prague has decided to take the road of destroying relations"
The 1961 Vienna Convention stipulates that if there is no agreement on the size of embassies between two countries, it will be kept within limits considered "reasonable and normal".
The Russian Foreign Ministry, which summoned the Czech ambassador to Moscow on Thursday afternoon, reacted angrily.
"Prague has decided to take the road of destroying relations and will not have to wait long for our response," the ministry spokeswoman told reporters.
In the meantime, a new actor has appeared in these diplomatic tensions.
To support its Czech neighbor, Slovakia has indeed decided to expel three Russian diplomats, Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said Thursday.
>> To read also on France 24.com: Unit 29155, these Russian spies specialized in "sabotage and assassination"
"Three members of the Russian diplomatic mission must cease their activities in Slovakia and have seven days to leave the country," he said.
Bratislava took this decision "after recent events in the Czech Republic and after receiving information from our intelligence services which work in close cooperation with the intelligence services of our allies," he added.
Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad told reporters that "the activities of these three people did not respect internationally accepted rules".
The Czech Republic accuses the Russian secret service of having been at the origin of an explosion in an ammunition depot near the village of Vrbetice in 2014 which killed two people.
With AFP
The summary of the week
France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 application
google-play-badge_FR