The Russian Foreign Ministry has summoned the Czech Charge d’Affaires in Moscow, Jan Ondrejka, to protest over what they called an attempt to smuggle powerful medical or recreational substances by a Czech embassy administrative and technical staff member, according to reports from Reuters.
The Czech Foreign Ministry confirmed the meeting of the Czech diplomat at the Russian Foreign Ministry to CTK, but did not provide more detailed information.
“On 29 July, the Charge d’Affaires of the Czech Republic in the Russian Federation, J. Ondrejka, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, and a strong protest was expressed in connection with a gross violation of Russian law by a member of the administrative and technical staff of the Czech Embassy in Russia – an attempt to smuggle potent substances,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its website.
The Russian ministry further stated that the Czech side had been asked to strip the employee of diplomatic immunity so that he can face criminal charges in Russia. “Otherwise, he will have to leave the territory of the Russian Federation,” reads the statement.
“We confirm that our diplomat had a meeting today at the Russian Foreign Ministry. We do not comment on the details of such meetings,” Czech Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mariana Wernerova told CTK.
The Czech Republic has had strained diplomatic relations with Russia since 2021, following the discovery by Czech intelligence services and investigators that Russian intelligence officers were involved in the 2014 explosions at ammunition warehouses in Vrbetice, in the Zlin region. A diplomatic quarrel following the discovery resulted in a major reduction in staff at both embassies. Moscow denied the accusations and included the Czech Republic on a list of countries “unfriendly to Russia”, which also included the United States. Relations between Prague and Moscow further deteriorated after the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops in 2022.
