Prague slams Russia’s decision to include Czech Republic into list of unfriendly states - TASS

By including the Czech Republic into the list of unfriendly states, Russia made "another step towards the escalation of relations" with Prague, the European Union and its allies, the Czech Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"We consider this course of action by the Russian Federation to be another step towards the escalation of relations not only with the Czech Republic, but also with the EU and its allies," the Czech Foreign Ministry said.

According to the statement, Russia’s move is "completely contrary to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations." According to Prague, the decision contradicts Moscow's commitment to allow diplomatic missions to function properly on the Russian territory, in line with the principle of non-discrimination between states.

"We regret that Russia is choosing the path of confrontation to its own detriment, as this measure will also have an indirect effect on the possible development of contacts between ordinary citizens, on tourism, and on the development of trade relations," the statement says.

However, the document says that Russia’s move should not affect the work of the Russian embassy in Prague. The number of its staffers will correspond to the number of diplomats, as well as of administrative and technical personnel of the Czech embassy in Moscow.