The Czech government announced Thursday April 22 that it would cap the size of the Russian diplomatic mission, following a crisis in relations between Prague and Moscow that has seen dozens of diplomats expelled this week on both sides.
Read also: Diplomatic crisis between Moscow and Prague
Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek said Russia would have until the end of May to cut the number of its diplomats in Prague by 63 people, in order to bring it down to the same number of Czech diplomats in Moscow. Prague currently has 32 diplomats in Moscow, while Russia has 95 in Prague, according to figures updated by the Czech Foreign Ministry. The Russian Foreign Ministry immediately threatened to retaliate.
The Czech Republic has already expelled 18 Russian diplomats and Moscow retaliated by expelling 20 Czech diplomats on Monday, following accusations from Prague of Russian secret agents' involvement in a deadly 2014 explosion on Czech soil. The Czech representation in Moscow now has just five diplomats and 19 other auxiliary members, while Moscow currently has 27 diplomats and 67 other staff at its embassy in Prague. "
In accordance with Article 11 of the Vienna Convention (on diplomatic relations), we will limit the number of staff at the Russian Embassy in Prague to the actual number at our embassy in Moscow,
" said Jakub Kulhanek to reporters.
The minister gave Moscow an ultimatum on Wednesday to allow 20 expelled Czech diplomats to return to work at noon (10:00 GMT) on Thursday, saying they had done nothing wrong. "
Russia's reaction has been absolutely disproportionate,
" he said Thursday, stressing that Prague had previously expelled only 18 Russian diplomats on suspicion of espionage. The 1961 Vienna Convention stipulates that if there is no agreement on the size of embassies between two countries, it will be kept within limits considered "
reasonable and normal
".
Jakub Kulhanek has indicated that Prague is ready to discuss these issues with Russia in the future.
But the Russian Foreign Ministry, which summoned the Czech ambassador to Moscow on Thursday afternoon, reacted angrily.
"
Prague has decided to take the road of destroying relations and will not have to wait long for our response,
" ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters.
Slovakia expels Russian diplomats
Thursday Slovakia, which was united in one country with the Czech Republic until 1993, announced its decision to expel in turn three Russian diplomats.
“
Three members of the Russian diplomatic mission must cease their activities in Slovakia and have seven days to leave the country,
” Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger said.
Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad told the press that "
the activities of these three people did not respect internationally accepted rules
".
To read also: Expulsions of diplomats: Moscow promises "retaliatory measures" against Prague
The Czech Republic accuses the Russian secret service of having been at the origin of an explosion in an ammunition depot near the village of Vrbetice in 2014 which killed two people. Czech police are looking for their alleged role in the blast two men with Russian passports with the same names as the suspects in the Novichok poisoning attempt of ex-double agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, Britain, in 2018 The ammunition targeted in the 2014 explosions belonged to a Bulgarian arms dealer. According to media reports, he was selling arms to Ukraine but he himself denied doing so.
The Vrbetice explosion occurred in the year that Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine and a conflict erupted between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels in the east of the country.