MOSCOW, April 2. /TASS/. Russia hopes to find a mutually acceptable solution regarding the situation with the monument to Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev in Prague, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during a briefing on Thursday.

"In order to find ways to regulate the situation, in the summer of last year, Russia offered to hold bilateral consultations. Unfortunately, they haven’t taken place so far, first and foremost, due to sanitary-epidemiological concerns," she said. "At the same time, we hope that we will be able to reach mutually beneficial decisions on the monument’s fate."

According to the diplomat, the decision of Prague officials to remove the monument to Konev seriously damaged bilateral relations with Russia.

Municipal officials plan to hand over the monument to the Museum of the 20th Century that should be established by the Prague government. The decision to move the monument was taken on September 12, 2020. The Russian Investigative Committee initiated criminal proceedings over the monument’s removal under the article "Public desecration of symbols of Russia’s military glory."

The monument to Marshal Konev was removed on April 3, 2020 following a decision by the authorities of the district Prague-6. The office of Czech President Milos Zeman strongly criticized the municipality. Czech veterans of World War II, public figures and civic activists expressed indignation over the monument’s demolition.