The Czech Republic’s Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Jan Hamacek plans to discuss the incident in the country’s Vrbětice at the EU foreign ministers’ meeting on Monday.
“I have tasked our representatives in the EU and NATO to inform our allies about the Vrbětice case. I will speak about this on Monday at the EU foreign ministers’ meeting,” Hamacek said.
The tensions between Moscow and Prague escalated after Prime Minister Andrej Babis claimed the Russian special services were involved in the Vrbetice ammunition depot blast that killed two people in 2014.
Russia stressed that such accusations were absurd and promised to respond in kind to the expulsion of diplomats.
“The Czech Republic took the Russophobe line of the US by expelling Russian diplomats. This step was completely unfounded and had no relation to the 2014 events,” said the Head of the Russian State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs Leonid Slutsky.
“Prague is well aware what follows such ‘tricks’,” added Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Britain stands in ‘full support’
Britain stands in “full support” of the Czech Republic which has exposed the lengths Russian intelligence services will go to, foreign minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday after Prague expelled 18 Russian embassy staff.
“The UK stands in full support of our Czech allies, who have exposed the lengths that the GRU will go to in their attempts to conduct dangerous and malign operations – and highlights a disturbing pattern of behaviour following the attack in Salisbury,” Raab said on Twitter.
