Prague delayed expulsion of Russian diplomats - Ex-Czech minister
14:38 20/08/2009 WARSAW, August 20 (RIA Novosti) - Prague put off expelling two Russian diplomats until the country's European Union chairmanship expired in July, former foreign minster Karel Schwarzenberg was quoted as saying by a paper on Thursday.
Schwarzenberg told the Pravo newspaper the decision to expel the diplomats was taken in the spring of this year but Prague decided to wait until its EU chairmanship had ended.
The CTK news agency reported the expulsions on Monday, identifying one of the diplomats as a deputy military attache. The agency quoted Czech intelligence sources as saying both diplomats were "working for the Russian secret services."
According to Schwarzenberg, the Russian diplomats' activities "were so serious," involving industry and the military, as well as certain "soft spots" that Prague had decided their deportation was necessary.
A Russian embassy spokesman in Prague, Vladimir Fyodorov, said on Monday that they had "received no official communication" of the expulsion of the diplomats.
Responding to a journalist's question about the reported expulsions on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called it a "provocation."
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