Russia classifies the United States and the Czech Republic as “not friendly”.

On Friday, May 14, Russia announced that it had placed the Czech Republic and the United States on the list of countries.Unfriendly», In a period of ongoing tensions between Moscow and Western countries.

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According to a government decree signed on Thursday, but published on the official Russian portal on Friday, the two countries were revealed.UnfriendlyBecause of the strict restrictions imposed on the Czech Republic and a blanket ban on the United States from employing Russian workers at their embassies in Moscow. The signing of this decree comes a few days before the first meeting of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinkin and the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergey Lavrov. This week, the US embassy has already announced that it will suspend most of its consular services due to Russian sanctions, after forcing a divorce and firing all of its local workers.Workforce 75%».

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Foreign Ministry in late April 2021 to compile a list ofHostile states“So”Protection of interests and securityfrom Russia. “Moscow has always affirmed its desire for dialogueOn Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on what was reported by Tass, stressing that only these two countries are on the list, while Russian media reported a total of ten countries, including the United Kingdom.

Relations between the United States and Russia continued to deteriorate amid Washington allegations of interference in the 2020 US presidential elections, espionage and cyberattacks. In April, the Biden government ordered new sanctions against Russian entities, expelled ten diplomats, and banned US banks from directly purchasing Russian debt.

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Meanwhile, more Russian diplomats have been deported in recent weeks in a number of Western capitals, especially in Eastern Europe. Prague took the lead in this step, after the Czech government accused the Russian intelligence services of detonating a weapons arsenal. Moscow retaliated and expelled diplomats from the countries concerned.