(Read the full article here: https://www.mzv.cz/ )
The Russian Federation did not respond to the Czech request to return staff to the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Moscow. Therefore, pursuant to Art. 11 of the Vienna Convention, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to reduce and cap the number of staff at the Russian Embassy in Prague at the current number of our staff in Moscow. The Russian embassy workers must leave the Czech Republic by 31 May 2021.
“The Czech Republic is a sovereign and confident state,” Prime Minister Andrej Babiš announced at a press conference about the ongoing diplomatic situation. “This is not a situation that we are happy about. We are not talking about escalation. We are interested in fair relations with the Russian Federation, and we hoped that Russia would recognise the disproportionate response, but it did not. That is why we have decided to respond appropriately.”
The country’s new foreign minister, Jakub Kulhánek, was appointed only a day ago. President President Miloš Zeman, a former Czechoslovak Communist Party member who joined in 1968, later quit the party in 1970 over what he said were reservations about Communist rule. He has been previously criticised for an accommodating attitude towards the Kremlin.