PRAGUE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th May, 2021) The Czech Foreign Ministry said on Friday it considered Russia's decision to add the republic to the list of unfriendly countries as another step towards aggravating relations not only with Prague, but also with the EU and its allies.
"The Czech Foreign Ministry views Russia's decision as another step toward aggravating relations not only with the Czech Republic, but also with the EU as a whole and its allies. In addition, this completely contradicts the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, in particular with regard to the obligation of the signatories to ensure the proper functioning of diplomatic missions and the principle of non-discrimination between states," the statement reads.
The ministry believes that Russia is choosing the path of confrontation to its own detriment.
"Such a measure [on the part of Moscow] will also have an indirect impact on the possible development of contacts between ordinary citizens, on tourism or the development of trade relations. This act of the Russian government does not change the original decision [of the Czech government] to limit the number of employees in the Russian Embassy in Prague. Unlike the actions of Russia, this step of ours is fully consistent with international law," the ministry said.
In mid-April, Prague accused the Russian intelligence of involvement in the explosion in Vrbetice in 2014 and expelled 18 employees of the Russian embassy from the country. In response, Moscow declared 20 employees of the Czech diplomatic mission personae non gratae, stating that the accusations of the explosion were absurd, unfounded and far-fetched. The Kremlin noted that the Czech Republic's unsubstantiated accusations against Russia inflicted extreme harm on relations between the two countries, and also indicated that these accusations against Russia were part of a large-scale campaign of the West against Moscow.
