Prague cannot get back part of Stromovka, according to the ministry, the Russian embassy acquired the land of treatment – ČT24 – Czech Television
The leadership of the capital and Prague 7 called on the government in April this year to negotiate with Russia the return of part of Stromovka, which it seized in 1968 after the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops. The soldiers encamped in it and use the park as a base. The city wants the embassy area to return to the state before August 21, 1968 and to restore publicly accessible greenery.
In its letter, the Ministry states that the land belongs to the Czech Republic and that the diplomatic service (DS) has the right to manage it. But in the past it was provided to the Soviet Union. “In 1972, the then DS contractually transferred the land to the permanent free use of the then Soviet embassy, based on a resolution of the government of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic of September 17, 1970,” the letter reads. There are several buildings used by the Russian embassy on a plot of about half a hectare. According to the letter, it belongs to the Russian Federation, which bought it carefully.
The return of the land would violate international law, according to the ministry
Subsequently, according to the above-mentioned circumstances, according to the Ministry, it is not possible to meet the requirements of the municipality and the city district without violating the basic principles of international law. The decision at that time is still valid, because it was based on a decision of the government of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic.
As for the agreements, according to the letter, it is unlikely that Russia would be willing to negotiate a voluntary return of the land in the current situation. The request from Prague came at a time when the Czechia announced suspicions of the involvement of Russian agents in explosions at an ammunition depot in Vrbětice in the Zlín region in 2014. The Czechia and Russia subsequently expelled some embassy and diplomat employees from each other.
According to Mayor Jan Čižinský, the leadership of the town hall of the seventh city district does not give up the idea of returning the size of the Russian embassy to its size before August 21, 1968. “We are moving forward,” Čižinský wrote to ČTK in an SMS message.