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Czech Diplomat Spying For Russia Sacked: Government

Czechs ban all Russian athletes from local competitions
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A senior Czech diplomat was fired for disclosing information to a Russian intelligence service, the foreign minister said Friday.

Local media said the man had the highest security clearance and had worked for the Russian foreign intelligence service SVR.

“I can confirm I have decided to take steps owing to which an employee who cooperated with a foreign power is no longer working at the ministry,” Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said.

“I will not make further comments for security reasons,” he added.

The Denik N daily said the man had worked for the ministry from the 1990s in various jobs, including embassies.

While working in an African country, he met a Russian couple who recruited him to work for the SVR.

“They used his weakness for women and money,” Denik N said, quoting a diplomatic source.

In its annual reports on foreign intelligence activities on home soil, the Czech Security Information Service (BIS) repeatedly mentions Russia among the biggest threats.

A former communist country and now a NATO and EU member of 10.5 million people, the Czech Republic currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.

Prague has so far provided $154 million in military aid to Ukraine, which has been battling a Russian invasion since February.

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AFP

Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency.







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