Russian Embassy In Prague Calls Diplomats' Expulsion 'Fabricated Provocation'

Russian Embassy in Prague Calls Diplomats' Expulsion 'Fabricated Provocation'

The Russian Embassy in Prague called the expulsion of its staff members a "fabricated provocation" that showed the Czech Republic's unwillingness to normalize the relations that are already strained

MOSCOW/PRAGUE (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th June, 2020) The Russian Embassy in Prague called the expulsion of its staff members a "fabricated provocation" that showed the Czech Republic's unwillingness to normalize the relations that are already strained.

Earlier on Friday, Prague announced the expulsion of two Russian diplomats over the information about alleged bringing of ricin poison to the Czech Republic.

"This is a fabricated provocation. This unfriendly step, which was initially based on unsubstantiated claims in the media, shows that Prague has no wish to normalize the Russian-Czech relations that have deteriorated lately not by our fault. We are deeply disappointed by such approach of our Czech partners, which further shrinks the space for the constructive dialogue," the embassy said.

Rossotrudnichestvo Federal agency responsible said that the expelled diplomats were the agency's Prague office's acting head Andrei Konchakov and a staff member, whose last name is Rybakov.

"The Czech Republic came up with this 'ricin scandal,' this low-quality story for pulp fiction. This decision has no justification," the agency's deputy head, Mikhail Bryukhanov. told Sputnik.

The agency will send an employee to Prague to replace the acting head of the office, Bryukhanov added.

In early May, Prague online outlet Seznam published a conversation of its correspondent with a Andrei Viktorovich K., who was introduced as a manager of a Russian federal agency working in the Czech capital, with a diplomatic status. The media called him a person who brought ricin poison to the country in early April. Czech tv suggested that Konchakov was the person in question. Rossotrudnichestvo reacted immediately, calling these reports a provocation.