GENEVA, April 22. /TASS/. Moscow will do everything possible to make sure that the ouster of Russian diplomats from the Czech Republic has as little negative consequences as possible on Russians residing in the Central European country, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin told reporters in Geneva on Thursday.
When asked how the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the Czech Republic could affect Russian nationals residing in the country, Vershinin said: "In any case, everything needs to be done to make sure that our fellow citizens will face as little damage as possible, and it will be done." "Undoubtedly, Prague’s decisions are wrong, based on false information and apparently made under foreign pressure," the senior Russian diplomat pointed out. "I think that they run counter to the interests of both Russia and the Czech Republic," he added.
"We can maintain dialogue with other countries only based on mutual respect and on proper terms," Vershinin specified. "We can’t accept discriminatory and groundless actions against Russia and will give an appropriate response to them," he insisted.
On April 17, the Czech authorities announced the expulsion of 18 employees of the Russian Embassy in Prague, who, according to the Czech authorities, are "officers of Russia’s SVR and GRU intelligence agencies." On the same day, Russian nationals Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, whom the Czech authorities claim were supposedly involved in the 2014 ammunition depot blast in the Czech village of Vrbetice, were declared to be wanted individuals. The Russian Foreign Ministry protested against the move that Prague had taken "under false pretenses," and declared 20 employees of the Czech Embassy in Moscow personae non gratae.