Five diplomats will remain in the staff of the Czech embassy in Moscow after Russia announced 20 persona non grata on Sunday. On April 18, the head of the International Department of the Presidential Administration of the Czech Republic, Rudolf Jindrak, told reporters about this.
“Five diplomats will stay there (at the Czech Embassy in the Russian Federation – Ed.). The people who must leave (from Russia. – Ed.) Are not agents (of the Czech special services. – Ed.). They were given 24 hours for them to leave (RF – Ed.), While we (in the case of the employees of the Russian Embassy – Ed.) – 48 hours, ”TASS quoted him as saying.
According to Jindrak, practically all employees of the political department of the Czech embassy should leave Russia. He also expressed a lack of understanding why Moscow sent two more employees than Prague.
On April 17, the Czech Republic announced that it was expelling 18 Russian diplomats. According to the first vice-premier, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as the interim head of the Czech Foreign Ministry Jan Hamacek, the diplomats were “identified” by the special services as officers of the GRU and SVR. He added that they must leave the Czech Republic within 48 hours.
In Prague, a rally was held near the Russian embassy. Hundreds of people came out to him. The protesters gathered after the statement by Prime Minister Andrei Babis and Gamacek about the existing suspicions of the involvement of Russian special services in an explosion at an ammunition depot in Vrbetice in 2014. Also, the protesters gathered because of the expulsion of 18 Russian diplomats from the Czech Republic, which was announced the day before.
According to Gamacek, the Czech police know the identities of two men who are believed to be involved in the explosions at an ammunition depot in the eastern village of Vrbetice.
At the same time, the situation with the expulsion of Russian diplomats was preceded by new US sanctions against the Russian Federation, a decree on the introduction of which was signed on April 15 by US President Joe Biden.
On the evening of April 18, Moscow announced 20 employees of the Czech Embassy in Russia persona non grata. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the staff of the diplomatic mission must leave the country by April 19.