Czech President Milos Zeman will make an emergency televised address on April 25 in connection with the situation around the incident in Vrbetica in 2014. This was announced on Saturday, April 24, by the press secretary of the head of state Jiri Ovchachek in his Twitter…
According to him, the performance will begin on Sunday at 11:00 (12:00 Moscow time), it will be broadcast by the Czech TV channels Prima and CNN Prima News.
Earlier, on April 18, Ovcacek announced the president’s plans to comment on the explosion of an ammunition depot in Vrbetica in a TV interview format. Now the Prague Castle has announced the change of this format to an emergency televised address. According to representatives of the management of the TV channels, Zeman’s speech will last 20 minutes.
On April 22, Prime Minister Andrei Babis said that Czech President Milos Zeman was informed about the latest steps of the country’s Foreign Ministry on the reduction of the staff of the Russian Embassy in Prague, he supports them.
Tensions in relations between Russia and the Czech Republic arose after Babiš announced on April 17 that Russian special services were suspected of being involved in an explosion at an ammunition depot in Vrbetica in 2014. On the same day, the Czech Republic decided to expel 18 Russian diplomats.
Moscow, in response, announced 20 employees of the Czech embassy in the Russian Federation persona non grata. The accusations in Russia were categorically denied, and the fact that Prague does not publish a report on the explosion, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova called evidence of a lie.
On April 23, the Russian Foreign Ministry explained that by May 31, seven diplomats, 25 technical staff and 19 people received on the spot will remain in the embassies of the Czech Republic and the Russian Federation. Earlier that day, Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulganek announced that the Czech Republic and Russia would have 32 employees at the embassies in Moscow and Prague.
On April 20, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that statements about Russia’s involvement in the explosion are unfounded and destructive to bilateral relations. According to him, on the whole, a “line on unfriendly influence” is being pursued against the Russian Federation, pressure and attempts to contain it are exerted.
The Kremlin also noted that Russia does not accept the stylistics of demands in relation to itself from other countries.
