MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st May, 2020) The authorities in Prague have virtually hidden the dismantled monument to Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev that used to stand in the Czech capital, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
According to the spokeswoman, the situation surrounding the monument is one of the topics for bilateral Russian-Czech consultations, the holding of which is currently being discussed.
"We are proceeding from the fact that one of the pressing issues to be discussed is the situation around the monument to Marshal Konev, which the Prague authorities dismantled and, I can not say another word, hid somewhere," Zakharova told reporters.
Moscow has repeatedly reminded Prague of Article 21 of the Czech-Russian Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation of 1993, the diplomat added. Under the article, the Czech Republic is obliged to ensure the safety, care and access to military monuments.
"We consider the current situation a violation of these provisions, which we have repeatedly said. At the same time, Prague continues to state that the monument is property of the municipality. We reiterate that the government is committed to obligations under international treaties, so the official authorities cannot evade this kind of responsibility," Zakharova said.
In addition, the spokeswoman recalled that for many decades, the monument was listed in the national register of military monuments, maintained by the Defense Ministry of the Czech Republic.
"Now, contrary to the available facts, they deny it. We will seek an answer from the Czech side on what basis this monument was removed from the register right now," Zakharova added.
The monument to Konev, whose army liberated the Czech capital from Nazi occupation in 1945, was torn down in early April per the decision of the authorities of the Prague 6 district and is set to be transferred to the Museum of 20th Century Memory. In response, the Investigative Committee of Russia has launched a criminal case in light of the public desecration of symbols of Russia's military glory. According to spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko, the committee intends to press criminal charges against those involved in the monument's demolition.
In late April, speculations emerged in the Czech media that a Russian diplomat had allegedly brought ricin poison into the Czech Republic to assassinate officials linked to the monument's removal.
The Russian embassy in the Czech Republic has refuted the allegations. Meanwhile, the Kremlin denounced them as fake news, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that such accusations must necessarily come with evidence to be valid. Czech President Milos Zeman also expressed doubts that the reports about the allegedly prepared ricin attack were accurate.
