Russia summons Czech chargé d’affaires over attempted drug smuggling

Jul 30 () –

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday summoned the Czech Republic’s chargé d’affaires in Moscow, Jan Ondrejka, to protest against an attempted drug trafficking by an employee of the Czech Embassy.

The Russian diplomatic ministry has expressed “strong protest in connection with a serious violation of Russian legislation” and has asked Prague to “relinquish the immunity” of the employee in question “in order to be able to hold him criminally liable.” “Otherwise, he will have to leave the territory,” reads a statement posted on the ministry’s website.

Relations between the two countries deteriorated sharply in April 2021, when Czech authorities accused Moscow of being behind the 2014 explosions at an arsenal in the town of Vrbetice. Eighteen Russian diplomats were expelled, while the Kremlin declared 20 employees of the Czech Embassy persona non grata.