Russia feels chill wind blowing from Europe

It is by far the biggest row between the Czech Republic and Russia since 1989, and means the Czech embassy in Moscow will effectively be closed, along with the country's consulates in Yekaterinburg and St. Petersburg. Contact between the two nations will be put on hold.

There can now be no talk of Russia supplying the Czech Republic with its Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19, something Hamacek, also Czech first deputy prime minister, was due to discuss in Moscow at the end of this month.

Also off the table is the prospect of Rosatom, Russia's nuclear energy corporation, winning a tender to build new reactors at the Dukovany nuclear power plant in the Czech Republic, a contract worth several billion dollars. Prague has long been criticized in the West for being prepared to consider energy proposals from a hostile Moscow. It will now be almost impossible to deflect that criticism.

It is also clear that the fallout from these accusations will reach far beyond the Czech Republic, which is already in talks with its European Union and NATO allies. Charges of state terrorism carried out on the territory of a NATO country resulting in the death of its nationals are certainly no less serious than the alleged attempted murder of the double agent Skripal.

Maxim Samorukov, a Fellow at the Carnegie Moscow Center, said the row between the Czech Republic and Russia is just one of the diplomatic conflicts between Europe and Moscow.

On April 28, Russia expelled seven European diplomats after their countries ordered Russian diplomats to leave in solidarity with the Czech Republic.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a total of four diplomats from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania had been declared "persona non grata" and must leave the country within seven days.

It added that the Baltic states "continue to conduct an openly hostile course towards our country, in this case hiding behind pseudo-solidarity with the indiscriminate actions of the Czech Republic towards Russia".

In a separate statement the same day, the ministry also announced the expulsion of three diplomats from Slovakia, who were ordered to leave by May 5, and accused Bratislava of "false solidarity" with Prague.

Slovakia's actions "damage the traditionally friendly Russian-Slovak relations and constructive bilateral cooperation," the statement added.