The expulsion of all Russian diplomats from the Czech Republic would actually mean a break in relations, but Prague itself could suffer from such a decision. This opinion was expressed on Tuesday, April 20, by the first deputy chairman of the Federation Council committee on international affairs Vladimir Dzhabarov.
“I think this is such a painful, unrestrained reaction. They didn’t expect us to respond so harshly. We responded to their boorish behavior, they also threaten. The question is who will lose more from this, ”said Dzhabarov in an interview with TASS.
He also noted that rebuilding a relationship is much more difficult than breaking it. The senator also advised the Czech side to look at Georgia, which broke off relations with Russia and is trying to restore them to no avail.
Summing up, Dzhabarov added that the Czech Republic “slightly exaggerates its capabilities.”
The expulsion of all Russian diplomats from Prague earlier that day was allowed by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Acting Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic Jan Hamacek. According to him, the Czech side intends to determine the phases of further response to Russia’s alleged involvement in the explosion at warehouses in Vrbetica in 2014.
In addition, the deputies of the Czech parliament recommended that the country’s authorities increase the number of expelled Russian diplomats. Prague claims that evidence of the alleged involvement of the Russian special services in the explosion is obvious. At the same time, as it became known on April 20, the Czech Republic cannot declassify information about what happened.
On April 17, the Czech Republic announced that it was expelling 18 Russian diplomats. Moscow responded by declaring 20 employees of the Czech embassy in the Russian Federation persona non grata.
At the same time, in the Czech Republic, the reaction of the Russian side was called stronger than expected, and the work of the embassy in Moscow was paralyzed. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the expulsion of diplomats from the Russian Federation is an adequate response to the aggressive actions of Prague.