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Czech ambassador says informed about response measures after expulsion of diplomats

Vitezslav Pivonka spent 20 minutes inside the Russian foreign ministry building

MOSCOW, April 18. /TASS/. Czech Ambassador to Russia Vitezslav Pivonka has left the building of the Russian foreign ministry where he was informed about Russia’s measures to respond to the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the Czech Republic.

"We were informed now," he said when asked whether any response measures were announced. "It was Russia’s response."

The Czech diplomat spent 20 minutes inside the Russian foreign ministry building.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and First Deputy Prime Minister Jan Hamacek on Saturday announced the expulsion of 18 employees of the Russian embassy in Prague, who were allegedly "officers of Russian special services."

The move came in the context of the newly leveled circumstance of the 2014 blast at the ammunition depot in the village of Vrbetice. According to reports, "officers of Russia’s military intelligence" were allegedly involved in this incident.

The Russian foreign ministry expressed resolute protest over this step taken "under invented and ungrounded pretexts" and vowed response measures would follow.

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