Czechs Escalate Feud With Russia With Demand for Diplomats to Return

(Bloomberg) -- The Czech Republic told Russia to allow the return of all of the diplomats it expelled or face significant cuts to the staff of its embassy in Prague.

The ultimatum is an escalation of the diplomatic dispute that’s brought relations between Prague and the Kremlin to the lowest point since the fall of communism. It follows the Czech government’s allegations that Moscow’s agents staged what they called a terrorist attack by blowing up a munitions warehouse in 2014.

The dispute adds to tensions between the Kremlin and the West, stoked by Russia’s military buildup on the border with Ukraine and the treatment of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny. Russia has rejected the Czech accusations.

Putin Warns of Retaliation for Crossing Russia’s Red Line

“If our diplomats aren’t allowed to return to Moscow, then tomorrow afternoon I will decide to reduce the numbers at the embassy in Prague so that it corresponds to the size of the staff of our embassy in Moscow,” Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek told reporters after meeting the Russian ambassador on Wednesday.

The Czechs have expelled 18 diplomats, to which Russia retaliated by kicking out 20 Czech embassy employees from Moscow. The Czech Republic has five diplomats and 19 other workers left in the Russian capital, while the Russian embassy in Prague now consists of 27 envoys and 67 other staff.

Czechs Accuse Russia of ‘Terrorist Attack’ for Deadly 2014 Blast

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis on Tuesday called the 2014 blast an “unprecedented terrorist attack.” The explosion killed two people, forced the evacuation of hundreds more from surrounding villages and caused tens of millions of dollars in damage.

Authorities said the two suspected agents of the GRU intelligence service used the same cover names when visiting the Czech Republic as the men the U.K. identified as alleged operatives behind the failed assassination attempt by poisoning of former agent Sergei Skripal in Salisbury four years later.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.