The Czech ambassador to Moscow Vitezslav Pivonka arrived at the Russian Foreign Ministry. This happened against the background of aggravation of bilateral relations. The diplomat proceeded to the department building without comment.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry speaker Maria Zakharova said that Moscow would respond to Prague’s decision to reduce the staff of the Russian embassy. According to her, the Czech Republic has embarked on the path of destroying relations.
Earlier, the Czech Foreign Ministry announced the limitation of the number of employees of the Russian Embassy in the country to the number of employees of its mission in Russia. The staff reduction should take place by the end of May 2021. Dozens of Russian diplomats will be expelled from the Czech Republic.
The diplomatic scandal began after Prague accused Moscow of involvement in the 2014 Vrbetica bombings. As a result, the Czech side expelled 18 Russian diplomats. The Czech Republic accuses them of having links with the Russian special services. In response, Moscow demanded that 20 representatives of the Czech diplomatic mission leave the country. Prague demanded to return these diplomats to work, but Russia turned out to do it, which resulted in new measures on the part of the Czech Republic.