MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th May, 2023) Prague has yet to officially notify Moscow of the cancellation of several resolutions adopted in the 1970s and 1980s to grant the Soviet Union free use of some land and real estate in the Czech Republic, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
"We have taken note of the Czech government's decision of May 17 to abolish several government decrees from the 1970s and 1980s, which regulated the granting of land to the Soviet side for the needs of our foreign missions for unlimited and free use. We are awaiting official notification. The Czech authorities' demand for rent, even retroactively, resembles state blackmail and violates the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," Zakharova said in a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry.
She recalled that Moscow had repeatedly offered expert advice on real estate issues, which had helped to solve related problems that had arisen.
"The Czech side preferred to forget about it. A civilized dialogue is not in honor in Prague at the moment. The issue of real estate in our bilateral relations is a long-standing and mutually acute one. We are certain that its instrumentalization for political purposes is not in Prague's interest, but the current Czech authorities do not seem to understand this in the heat of Russophobia. We will take protective measures, including the use of legal mechanisms," Zakharova said.
