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The Czech government announced on Saturday that 18 Russian diplomats would be expelled from the country.
Czech intelligence calls them secret agents of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) and the military intelligence agency GRU and associates them with two explosions at military ammunition depots in the east of the country in 2014, including one that claimed two lives. .
Intended to negotiate the supply of Sputnik V.
News of expelled Russian diplomats: unexpected, 15 minutes The president of the Lithuanian community in the Czech Republic, T. Krasauskas, commented on Sunday.
“Reuters” / “Scanpix” / “Companion V” vaccine
According to him, most Czechs did not know how to value it or react to it.
“It just came to our notice then. On Friday, the Czech Minister of the Interior, who is now also Foreign Minister, was planning a trip to Moscow to negotiate the Sputnik V vaccine. Preparations were made to fly a special state plane in the that more than 100 seats were occupied. This is the message broadcast on Saturday <...> it was a big surprise, “said T. Krasauskas.
Acting Czech Foreign Minister Jan Hamaček was scheduled to travel to Moscow on Monday to negotiate the purchase of a Russian vaccine against COVID-19 “Sputnik V”, but the trip was canceled due to a diplomatic dispute.
There are more Russian vaccines waiting than in Lithuania
According to T. Krasauskas, there are definitely more people waiting for the Sputnik V vaccine in the Czech Republic than in Lithuania, and the political parties – the Social Democrats and the Communists – take the chances of agreeing on its supply very seriously, according to him. .
The question is whether the Sputnik vaccine is the one that should make up for the lack of vaccines.
“It just came to our knowledge then [koronaviruso] The Czech Republic did not order the full quota for Pfizer or other vaccines approved in the European Union last year, when the issue of purchasing vaccines was being addressed. As a result, there could be more vaccines, but the question is whether the Sputnik vaccine is the one that should make up for the lack of vaccines, ”Krasauskas said, considering the country in which Sputnik V can be purchased.
According to T. Krasauskas, the diplomatic dispute between the Czech Republic and Russia may also affect the construction process of the new nuclear reactor at the Dukovanu nuclear power plant in the south of the Czech Republic.
“Here, the Russian company Rosatom is very interested in participating together with Chinese, French and foreign companies,” he said.
Russia is seen as a counterweight to the West
T. Krasauskas said that Russia is actively using soft power tools in the Czech Republic.
“The Russian embassy has about 120 diplomats and staff with diplomatic status here; it is now considered the largest embassy in Eastern Europe, the former socialist bloc. There are also many NGOs supported by the Russian Embassy. <...>
About 15 thousand people are registered in the Czech Republic. Russians living in Russia, Russian citizens, and we estimate that there are still about 100,000 left. people who have created companies here to buy real estate, live here and have residence permits in the European Union ”, he said.
AFP / “Scanpix” nuotr./Rusija
According to T. Krasauskas, the attitude towards Russia in the Czech Republic is more favorable than in Lithuania: “The vast majority of citizens who are pro-Western and what is happening in Russia value it the same as Lithuanians. But the Czechs are definitely less suspicious and allergic to Russian state structures than the Lithuanians. “
Oh, and not everything that comes from the West, and especially the United States, is said to be viewed positively by the Czechs.
“They see Russia as a counterweight. This is the opinion of the voters of the Communist Party and the Social Democratic Party ”, assured T. Krasauskas and hopes that the attitude of Czech society will change in the long term.
Tensions before the elections
“In the long term, this scandal may reduce the influence of the Russian state, and I hope that people will begin to appreciate in a more healthy way the ways in which Russia is influencing here,” said the president of the Lithuanian community in the Czech Republic.
According to him, the Czech parliamentary elections scheduled for the autumn also cause additional tensions in the country, which explains the international relations with Russia.
Political parties that want to stay in power to keep their constituents really need to make decisions.
“On the one hand, political parties that want to stay in power to keep their constituents really need to make decisions. There is even a question of statehood here,” said T. Krasauskas.
Scanpix / AP photo / Czech Parliament
The declassification of the file on the explosions in the ammunition depots of the Czech army seven years ago is under consideration.
Russia promises an answer
The Czech Republic is looking for two Russians with passports for one of the blasts, which were used by the 2018 suspects in the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter.
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Sunday issued a loud protest to Prague over the “unprecedented” deportation of 18 Russian embassy staff, BNS reports.
According to the ministry, this “hostile movement” shows “traces” of Washington’s involvement.
“We are vigorously protesting against the Czech authorities. We will take retaliatory measures that will make the authors of this provocation realize their full responsibility for the destruction of the foundations for the normal development of relations between our countries,” the ministry said in a statement.
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