Prague wants back from Russia the part of Stromovka occupied in 1968
Updates: 04/19/2021 23:46
Released: 19.04.2021, 14:05
Prague – The Prague leadership has called on the government to negotiate with Russia to return part of Stromovka, which it seized in 1968 after the Warsaw Pact invasion. The municipality wants the area of the Russian embassy to return to the state before August 21, 1968, and the city to restore publicly accessible greenery there. The Prague management also wants to reduce the number of parking spaces reserved for embassies. The reason for the decision is weekend information about the suspicion of the involvement of Russian agents in the explosions in the ammunition depot in Vrbětice in the Zlín region in 2014. Representatives of the capital told the press today. According to Interfax, Russian diplomacy in connection with the requirements of Prague reminded Prague of Czech real estate in the center of Moscow.
At a press conference after today’s government meeting, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (YES) noted that if Prague provides the documents, it will hand them over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Czech Republic expelled 18 people from the Russian embassy in Prague, who were identified as Russian secret service workers, due to reports of possible participation of Russian intelligence services in the explosion. Moscow responded by firing 20 employees of the Czech embassy in Russia.
“We will primarily negotiate with the government, because the land is owned by the diplomatic service, which will decide what will happen. The land is not being used as it should now. The call will leave today,” said Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates).
About half a hectare of land in question is owned by the Czech Republic. During the Warsaw Pact invasion, soldiers occupied Stromovka, where they camped and used the park as a base. “The area of the Embassy of the Soviet Union then expanded by a part of Stromovka Park permanently, and the departure of the occupying forces in 1990 and 1991 did not change anything. approved by councilors.
The motion for a resolution was submitted by Prague to itself. “Why does the Russian embassy still have land occupied since the August 1968 invasion? At that time, the Warsaw Pact troops took over part of Stromovka and it has remained so. Now is the time to get this land back from Russia for residents and visitors to Prague,” said MP, chairman Prague To Himself and the Mayor of Prague 7 Jan Čižinský.
According to the town of Čižinský, his decision does not interfere in foreign policy. “This is not about foreign policy. It is about more than a million Prague heroes we represent. They have the right to want the city to belong to the people and not to the embassy of an authoritarian country from the East, which is hostile to us,” said Čižinský.
The city’s move was supported by the coalition Pirates and the United Forces for Prague (TOP 09 and STAN). “Let Russia use the land and buildings that belong to it. We welcomed it, “said the chairman of the United Forces and MEP Jiří Pospíšil.
In the early evening, representatives of Prague 7 also joined the call at their meeting. The requirements of the town hall coincide with those approved today by the Prague management.
Because of Stromovka, the Russians are reminiscent of the Czech House in Moscow in Prague
In connection with the requirements of the Prague City Hall for the return of part of Stromovka used by the Russian embassy, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs reminded Prague of the Czech property in the center of Moscow, today it represents the Interfax agency.
According to the Russian Ministry, the land in the Czech capitals was provided to the Soviet Union in the early 1970s on the basis of valid Soviet-Czechoslovak agreements. At the same time, it reminded that the Czech side owns a large property in the area of Tverskaya Street in the Russian capital. The Czech House is located at the mentioned address.