The expulsion of two Russian diplomats over the imaginary Prague poisoning plot is a very hostile move, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has said, warning the scandal is set to affect relations between the two countries.
“The Czech side has acted dishonorably and unworthily, taking this unfriendly step. Without any reason, the Czech authorities caused serious damage to Russian-Czech relations,” the ministry said in a statement.
After weeks of unfounded accusations against Moscow, which had allegedly plotted to poison the mayor of Prague and two other municipal officials, the Czech authorities finally admitted that the whole affair was entirely made-up.
The ‘poisoning plot’ has been the centerpiece of Czech political life lately, with the wildest allegations peddled by the country’s media. The Kremlin was accused of seeking to kill three municipal officials involved in hostile anti-Russian acts, including the demolition of a monument to Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev, who led the liberation of Prague from Nazi forces during World War II.
While the whole story seemed implausible from the very beginning, it was apparently deemed scary enough to place the three officials under police protection. Still, Prague has ultimately managed to blame Russians for the scare, expelling two diplomats on Friday despite the lack of any evidence against them.
“The entire case came into being as a result of internal feuding among workers at the embassy… with one of them sending made-up information to our [counterintelligence service]about a planned attack on Czech politicians,” Czech PM Andrej Babis claimed.
The Russian Embassy denounced the decision as a “fabricated provocation,” stating that the hostile move clearly showed “Prague’s lack of interest in normalizing Russian-Czech relations.”
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