Czech foreign minister: Broad EU support crucial, number of Russian diplomats expelled secondary

The Czech minister of foreign affairs, Jakub Kulhánek, has stressed that broad EU support in the case of the Vrbětice blasts is more important for the country than the number of Russian diplomats expelled by the allies.

In an interview for the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung Mr.Kulhánek dismissed claims that the Czech government had bungled the call for EU support which led to only five EU member states backing their words with actions and expelling Russian diplomats in a show of solidarity.

“The broad support expressed was crucial for us, many Russian ambassadors were summoned for an explanation, this is not a race in expelling diplomats,” the Czech foreign minister said.

Mr. Kulhánek gave the interview during a visit to Germany where he met with the German foreign minister, Heiko Maas. Germany did not expel any Russian diplomats over the Vrbětice incident and was reported to have been taken aback by the fact that it had not been informed about the matter in advance.