Lukashenko and Vrbětice

Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova of Russia's foreign ministry told Russian state TV yesterday that the West used the Vrbětice incident to divert attention from its own planned coup in Belarus. (Alexander Lukashenko claims that there was a failed attempt to murder him and his sons.) The Czechs are paying a colossal price for being part of this in terms of the diplomatic steps taken against them by Moscow, Zakharova said. Most important, she said, is the betrayal of their own people by the Czech leaders who agreed to make up such a dirty story (about the GRU agents) and to commit this illegal act. At about the same time yesterday, the EU's foreign affairs representative, Josep Borrell, announced that the EU stands in unity and solidarity with the CR but plans no coordinated expulsion of Russian diplomats. Russia is escalating the situation to a dangerous level, while the EU is moving on. Protests in Prague against Russia might soon be followed by protests against the EU.