Moscow announced last Wednesday it was expelling the deputy Czech ambassador Tomáš Hart as a tit-for-tat reaction to the expulsion of the deputy Russian ambassador to Prague in March.
As Czech media reported that before being expelled from the country, Hart was pushed by Russian authorities to cooperate with secret services while another Czech diplomat was also approached, but both refused the offer.
After he received a letter inviting him to a meeting in Moscow in late March, Hart, as Deník N and Respekt informed, was approached by Russian intelligence services, but he reported the matter to the Czech foreign ministry did not respond to the offer.
The media speculated that the offer could have been an attempt to put psychological pressure on Czech diplomatic services or a provocation by the Russian authorities.
The second Czech diplomat was warned by an unknown man that she’d be expelled from Russia if she did not cooperate, also facing a threat that the Russians knew her family.
The incident comes at a time when the diplomatic relations between Russia and the Czech Republic are at an all-time low.
The Czech foreign ministry summoned the Russian ambassador to Prague, Alexandr Zmejevskij, to protest against the unacceptable behavior in Moscow after Czech diplomats faced severe harassment in late March.
Following that meeting, the Czech Republic expelled the deputy Russian ambassador who was working for the Russian intelligence services under diplomatic cover and Russia decided to expel the Czech deputy ambassador in a tit for tat move.
The Russian embassy in Prague currently employs six diplomats while the Czech embassy in Moscow employs 17 staff workers, including diplomats.
Meanwhile, Prague has applied strict sanctions against Russia which go beyond the common European response and is no longer issuing visas for Russian citizens, except for humanitarian cases.
The Czech prime minister also noted that the diplomatic contacts between the two countries have been reduced to a bare minimum and they’re considering further measures.
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