The Foreign Ministers of the Visegrad Group (Poland, Slovakia and Hungary) expressed solidarity with the latest actions taken by the Czech authorities with regard to Russia. This is stated in a press release from the Polish Embassy, which is at the disposal of Izvestia.
The Foreign Ministers stressed that they condemn all actions that threaten the security of sovereign countries and their citizens.
“We are ready to continue to build our resilience against subversion. We will carry out this both at the national level and in cooperation with our NATO allies, as well as within the framework of the European Union. The Foreign Ministers of Poland, Slovakia and Hungary express their solidarity with the latest actions taken by the Czech Republic, our close partner, ally and neighbor, ”the Foreign Ministers noted.
On April 17, Czech Prime Minister Andrei Babis announced that the country’s authorities suspect the Russian special services of involvement in the explosion at an ammunition depot in Vrbetica in 2014.
On the same day, the Czech Republic announced its decision to expel 18 Russian diplomats. It was reported that the employees of the diplomatic department were “identified by the country’s special services as officers of the GRU and SVR.”
The European Union has supported the accusations of the Czech Republic, calling it “reasonable” suspicions of Russia’s alleged involvement in the explosion of ammunition.
The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed a strong protest to this from the Czech Republic. The next day, Moscow declared 20 employees of the Czech embassy in the Russian Federation persona non grata.
On April 20, the Czech authorities called on the EU and NATO allies to also expel Russian diplomats in solidarity.