Against the background of the situation with the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the Czech Republic and the reciprocal decision of Moscow, the Czech Foreign Ministry proposed to make a joint statement with NATO. This was announced on April 21 by the Czech Foreign Ministry.
“At a meeting of the North Atlantic Council on Tuesday, April 20, the Czech Republic informed its NATO allies of the reasons for the expulsion of 18 Russian embassy personnel and the subsequent Russian response. The Czech Republic thanked its allies for the solidarity shown so far and requested a joint statement at NATO level, ”reads Twitter ministries.
It is noted that the Czech Republic accused Russia of “violation of sovereignty and national security” and asked the allies to hold another meeting of the North Atlantic Council at the end of this week “to discuss other possible coordinated steps.”
On April 17, 2021, the Czech Republic announced that it was expelling 18 Russian diplomats due to Moscow’s alleged connection with an explosion at an ammunition depot in Vrbetica. In response, Russia declared 20 employees of the Czech embassy in the Russian Federation persona non grata.
According to the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, Prague is “recklessly destroying” bilateral relations and Moscow’s response to its aggressive actions is adequate.
On April 18, the North Atlantic Alliance supported the Czech authorities in the investigation of Russia’s actions and called for the punishment of those responsible. In addition, the deputies of the Czech parliament called on the government to limit the number of employees of the Russian embassy in Prague and to recover compensation from Moscow for the damage caused by the incident in Vrbetica.
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov said that the accusations of the Czech leadership are baseless and destructive for bilateral relations.