First deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs Dmitry Novikov believes there is no reason for expulsion of diplomats from the Czech Republic, the situation in the EU countries resembles a race for allegiance to the United States
“The figure of 18 diplomats, which the Czech side indicated, is an extraordinary thing, with no apparent reason for this <…> the situation in European diplomatic circles is very bad: a race effect is taking place, with many people trying to swear allegiance to the new team in Washington, and being in the ‘forefront'”, – he commented.
Earlier, the Czech authorities decided to expel 18 Russian diplomats. According to European media reports, the expelled diplomats were in fact members of Russian intelligence and were working undercover. The authorities made the decision when they discovered that Russian intelligence services were involved in an explosion at a munitions depot in the Czech Republic in 2014, which killed two people.