Prague’s position against the background of accusations against Moscow of involvement in the Vrbetica bombings is not formed by Prague itself. So on Sunday, April 25, Vice-Speaker of the Federation Council Konstantin Kosachev reacted to the statement of Czech President Milos Zeman.
“The position of the Czech Republic is actually being formed now, unfortunately, not by the Czech Republic itself, if we take the official position. There are fewer and fewer politicians like Mr. Zeman who take a self-sufficient, independent, independent, objective position in the Czech Republic, “he said in an interview with RT.
The senator added that the number of Czech politicians who consider the “transfer of sovereignty” to an EU or US country to be a solution to emerging problems is increasing. According to Kosachev, Prague is being used in geopolitical interests against Moscow, and this is read in Zeman’s words.
“And in this sense, his (Zeman’s – Ed.) Position, which does not exclude any versions, but which calls on these versions to be thoroughly investigated, can only be welcomed,” the parliamentarian concluded.
Earlier that day, the Czech leader did not rule out the possibility that the situation around the story with the explosions at the warehouses in Vrbetica could be a game of the special services. He pointed out that the intelligence report did not provide evidence of the involvement of “Russian agents” in this incident. Also, the Czech President urged to wait for the results of the investigation of the incident before drawing conclusions.
At the same time, Zeman admitted that he approved the proposal of the Cabinet of Ministers to expel 18 employees of the Russian Embassy, since they were considered employees of the special services, and he “does not like intelligence officers.” The Czech leader expressed confidence that the “mutual cannibalism” of the embassies of the two countries is over.
The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, in response to this, noted that the Czech authorities had no prerequisites to accuse Russia of involvement in the explosions at an ammunition depot in Vrbetica.
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.
Russia responded by declaring 20 employees of the Czech embassy in Moscow persona non grata a day later. The accusations in Moscow were categorically denied, and the fact that Prague does not publish the report on the explosion, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova called evidence of a lie.
As explained in the Russian Foreign Ministry, as a result of the mutual expulsions of diplomats, 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.