GENEVA, January 21. /TASS/. Russia expects concrete proposals from the Czech government to improve bilateral relations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference on Friday following talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"As for the new Czech government, we hear what is being said, but of course we will determine what to do when these words are translated into some concrete proposals and steps," he said.

Czech-Russian relations deteriorated sharply after April 17, 2021, when Czech authorities alleged that Moscow was involved in the 2014 explosions at a munitions depot in the village of Vrbetice in the east of the republic and expelled 18 Russian diplomats, described as members of the Russian intelligence services.

The Russian Foreign Ministry strongly protested to the Czech Republic about the move "under unfounded and far-fetched pretexts," and declared 20 employees of the Czech embassy in Moscow personae non gratae. On May 14, 2021, the official internet portal of legal information published a list of unfriendly foreign countries, approved by the Russian government. It included only the United States and the Czech Republic.