Russia terms US and Czech Republic 'unfriendly' states and limits embassy hiring

Vladimir Putin-led Russian government has official termed the United States and the Czech Republic as “unfriendly” states and announced that American diplomatic missions could no longer employ its local staff while limiting the Czech missions to up to 19 members. As per The Guardian report, Moscow had first announced the ban on the US hiring local staff last month in a tit-for-tat move as America sanctioned Russia for its interfering in November presidential elections in the United States along with its involvement in massive SolarWind hack of the US federal agencies. 

As per the report, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that the government has given US President Joe Biden’s government until August 1 to comply with the new restrictions. While US-Russia relations have reached another low with the recent cracks and slew of sanctions, ties between Russia and Czechs have also suffered a new blow as the Czech accused Russian military intelligence of being responsible for a 2014 blast at an ammunition depot. Czechs also expelled dozens of Russian diplomats. However, Russia had dismissed the allegations but retaliated by suspending Czech diplomats. 

Czech Republic, US reacts to Russia move

Russia also ordered the Czech Republic to dismiss a huge chunk of local employees in Moscow, many of them reportedly staffed a Czech hospitality and business centre in the city. Following Russia naming Cezchs as “unfriendly,” the Czech Foreign Ministry denounced the move as “another step in the escalation of the relations, not just with the Czech Republic but also with the European Union and its allies”.

“It absolutely contradicts the Vienna convention about diplomatic relations, especially the commitment of the signatories to enable the proper functioning of diplomatic missions based on the principle of no-discrimination between individual states,” it added. Meanwhile, the United States embassy in Prague tweeted that they are “proud to stand alongside our steadfast Ally, the Czech Republic.” However, complying with the law that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed in April, the US and Czech missions will no longer be allowed to hire local staff.

IMAGE: AP