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According to Reuters, relations drastically deteriorated last month after the Czech government accused Russian military intelligence of carrying out an explosion at a munitions depot in 2014 that killed two people and expelled many Russian diplomats from Prague.
Russia denies the allegations and took retaliatory action by expelling several Czech diplomats from the country and adding the Czech Republic to its list of “hostile” states, including the United States, on Friday.
The governments of the countries included in the list can only employ a limited number of staff in Moscow.
“It’s always bad to be an enemy,” Zeman said in a face-to-face interview with Radio Frequency 1.
“Russia has played a fool because it is wrong to turn former friends into enemies. If there cannot be more friendship, then at least there should be a proper relationship,” he added.
For many years, the Czech president has been working to maintain friendly relations with Moscow, supported Russia’s participation in the construction of a new nuclear power plant in the country, and urged the Czech authorities to buy doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. .
Mr. Zeman also ignored the official government position and pointed out that there was another version of the cause of the explosion in the ammunition depot. He reiterated that view on Sunday.
On the other hand, the president, who has no executive power to shape government policy, supported the government’s decision to send Russian diplomats.
There are only two countries on the list
Russia officially declared the United States and the Czech Republic as “hostile states” last Friday, amid high tensions between Moscow and the West.
The Russian government has issued a decree signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and a list of “hostile states” that have allegedly “participated in hostile actions” against Russia, Russian citizens or Russian entities.
Currently, only the United States and the Czech Republic are listed.
Moscow has indicated that the Czech embassy will be allowed to employ no more than 19 Russian citizens, and the US embassy will have no such option at all.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Moscow was still ready for dialogue, state news agency TASS reported. He stressed the fact that Russia had added only two countries to its list of “hostile states”.
Prague responded with a warning that such a move would only “intensify tensions” in relations between Moscow and the Czech Republic, as well as between Moscow and the EU and the latter’s allies.
“We regret that Russia has chosen the path of confrontation to its own detriment,” the Czech Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“This measure will also indirectly affect the development of civil relations, tourism and potentially ordinary business,” he added.
European Council President Charles Michel expressed “full solidarity” with Prague on Twitter, stressing that Russia’s move “is detrimental to diplomatic relations.”
“Efforts to divide the EU will be in vain”, Ch. Michelis.
Increasing tensions
Tensions between Russia and the West have risen in recent months over a number of issues, including the mobilization of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine, interference in the US elections and other hostile activities.
Tensions between Russia and the United States escalated when US President Joe Biden, who came to power in January, began increasing pressure on the Kremlin.
Washington announced sanctions on Russia in April and dispatched 10 of the latter’s diplomats in response to alleged Kremlin interference in the US elections, a large-scale cyberattack and other hostile activities.
In response, Russia also sent ten US diplomats, banned top US officials from entering the country, and the US embassy in Russia from hiring foreign nationals.
When Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a “murderer,” Russia temporarily withdrew its US ambassador and soon said the US envoy should also go to Washington for consultations.
Following such Russian retaliation, the US embassy in Moscow was forced to suspend most consular services to its citizens and stopped issuing visas due to staff shortages.
However, the US embassy said on Friday it would temporarily resume providing consular services to its citizens “until July 16.”
Tensions have also escalated in Russia’s relations with the Czech Republic, with Prague accusing Russian military intelligence of staging a two-life bombing of a munitions depot in the eastern Czech Republic in 2014.
After the Czech Republic decided to send several dozen Russian diplomats, Moscow also said last month that it would limit the number of employees at the Czech embassy.
Last month, Russian media cited unidentified sources saying that Moscow had added the Baltic states and six more to the list of hostile countries, but the government did not confirm this, emphasizing that the official list would be released later.
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