Material that would abolish a set of resolutions from the 1970s concerning the handing over of land to the Russian Federation is in the inter-ministerial comment procedure. Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský (Pirates) confirmed the information to journalist David Klimes at a press conference today. The material is to be discussed by the government, but Lipavský said the revision should have been carried out much earlier.
“This is a set of resolutions from the 1970s, when the socialist republic still granted certain benefits to the Russian Federation,” the minister said. “We want to abolish them and I will take this to the government. Let’s say this is one of the partial outcomes of the work on the revision of relations with the Russian Federation,” the Czech diplomatic chief added.
According to Klimesh, who quoted from the submission report, the ministry is submitting a proposal to repeal resolutions from 1970 to 1982. “The submitted proposal is part of the measures to resolve the situation regarding the real estate (land) owned by the Czech Republic, which was entrusted to the former USSR for free use for diplomatic purposes between 1970 and 1982,” he said.
According to the Czech diplomacy, the land is being used by Russia for purposes other than those for which it was originally intended, so there is no reason to continue to provide it free of charge and to claim privileges in relation to it under international conventions. According to Klimesh, the Prague apartments at the embassy are not the only ones in question, but also buildings in Brno, Karlovy Vary and holiday resorts.
The Czech Republic has strained diplomatic relations with Russia following the discovery last year by Czech intelligence services and investigators that Russian intelligence agents were involved in the 2014 explosions at ammunition depots in Vrbětice, in the Zlín region. The number of Russian diplomats in the Czech Republic was further reduced after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There are currently six diplomats working at the Russian embassy in Prague. According to the ministry, this fact also rules out the possibility that the properties are used exclusively for diplomatic purposes.
“Some of the properties are even apparently being used for commercial purposes, and there is thus unjustified enrichment on the part of the Russian Federation by virtue of the free use of the land contrary to the originally defined purpose,” the report says. “For the sake of completeness, it should also be added that the total area of land used free of charge by the Russian Federation in the Czech Republic (92,001 square metres, of which 87,863 square metres are state-owned) and by the Czech Republic in the Russian Federation (26,875 square metres) is far from respecting the principle of reciprocity. Therefore, the situation needs to be urgently addressed,” said Klimeš further.
Last May, Lipavsky set up a working group to deal with the correction of property relations to the real estate used by Russia in the Czech Republic. The group focused on the specification of the real estate in question, its legal status and the way it was acquired by the Russian side.
Approximately two and a half years ago, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided the Russian side with a list of properties owned by Russia in the Czech Republic that it considers to be used for diplomatic activities under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The rest, which do not serve state non-commercial purposes, will be subject to the full application of Czech law, Lipavsky said earlier.
The ministry has registered about five dozen properties. The working group concentrated on those in Russian ownership, both in Prague and in other towns and cities.
Source: Reuters, and CTK
