Poland backs Czechia’s proposal to restrict movement of Russian diplomats

Poland has strongly backed the Czech Republic’s proposal to restrict the movement of Russian diplomats in the Schengen area for security reasons. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said that out of the approximately 2,000 Russian diplomats in Europe, one-fifth are GRU agents involved in espionage across the continent. Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told Novinky.cz that support for the Czech proposal is much stronger than it was a year ago. However, the proposal is still being vehemently opposed by Germany and Italy. The British daily The Telegraph reported last year that Berlin did not want to support the proposal because it feared that the large presence of German diplomats in Russia could be reduced. Italy is reportedly against it for fears that it would not be able to offer adequate consular services in Russia.