Babiš calls on EU leaders to expel Russian diplomats in solidarity with Prague

Ahead of the informal EU summit in Porto on Saturday, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš asked other EU leaders to consider expelling at least one Russian diplomat in solidarity with the Czech Republic over the Vrbětice case.

A diplomatic dispute broke out between the Czech Republic and Russia about two weeks ago, after Czech security forces revealed that the Russian secret service was involved in the deadly 2014 munitions explosions in Vrbětice, south Moravia.

The Czech government announced in mid-April that it would expel 18 Russian diplomats over the case. Russia retaliated by expelling 20 Czech diplomats, to which Prague reacted by announcing further forced departures of Russian diplomats.