Caption: Anatoly Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin
On Tuesday at its closed meeting the Defense Committee called on the Government to equalize the number of diplomats at the Russian Embassy in Prague and the Czech Embassy in Moscow. In the adopted resolution the members of the Committee condemned the terrorist attack perpetrated by GRU.
The meeting of the Defense Committee had a single item on the agenda, which concerned serious findings of the Security Information Service (BIS) on the involvement of two agents of the Russian military intelligence GRU in the explosion of the ammunition depot in Vrbětice in the Zlín region. The Committee thanked the BIS, the police and other security forces, both the Czech and allied, for their work in uncovering the diverse Russian action in the Czech Republic.
The chairwoman of the Defense Committee, Jana Černochová (ODS), stated after the meeting that the BIS had provided the Committee with all relevant information about the investigation. "Indeed, it absolutely proves that the attack took place here, that the people who are associated with the attack were in Vrbětice and the Czech Republic at the time in question. We were informed about how they arrived, where they traveled after the attack, so there is really a lot of evidence," she said.
In its resolution, the Defense Committee called on the Government to equalize the number of diplomats at the Russian Embassy in Prague and the Czech Embassy in Moscow. Based on the findings of the BIS, the Government expelled 18 Russian diplomats (identified as agents of the Russian intelligence services) from Prague, and Moscow responded by calling on 20 Czech diplomats at the embassy in Moscow to leave Russia.
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However, the opposition calls for these numbers to be equalized at both diplomatic missions and for the Czech Republic to take a tougher stance on Russia. The chairwoman of the Defense Committee Černochová and the chairman of STAN Vít Rakušan also agree. If that happened, the Russian embassy in Prague would have 5-6 diplomats, the same number as the Czech Republic now has in Russia. In the case of Russia, it would be a significant reduction in the staff of the embassy, which had about 140 people before the expulsion of 18 diplomats.
The Committee also condemned the terrorist attack perpetrated by GRU agents Anatoly Chepiga and Alexander Mishkin. Three years ago, they wanted to poison Sergei Skripal in Salisbury, UK. The resolution adopted at today's hearing contains a call for Russia's apology, compensation and also compensation for the survivors of the victims of the explosion.
The Committee also called on the Government to reject Russia's interference in the sovereignty of the Czech Republic. Following the recent events, the Government is to take measures to reduce the threat of further terrorist acts by Russian special forces on Czech territory.