Czechs hand Russian Ambassador note demanding Vrbětice explosion compensation

Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Smolek has handed over a diplomatic note to the Russian ambassador to asserting the Kremlin’s international legal responsibility for the 2014 ammunition depot explosion in Vrbětice, Moravia demanding full compensation for the damage.

Several days earlier, a group of Czech parliamentarians led by the Minister of the Interior Jan Hamáček submitted a bill on one-off 700 million crown compensation for affected municipalities and residents for restrictions after the explosion.

Czech-Russian relations are at freezing point after the Czech Republic expelled dozens of Russian diplomats from the country earlier this year, saying that Russian agents had been behind deadly explosions on Czech territory in 2014.

Smolek also told the ambassador that the Czech Republic’s inclusion on Russia’s list of "not friendly" states constitutes a violation of international law. These include the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Treaty on Friendly Relations and Cooperation.