Foreign Minister monitors Czech-Russia tension over a removed statue

In the wake of the current tension between the Czech Republic and Russia, following the removal of the statue of Soviet Marshall Ivan Konev from a Prague square and talks on Russian intelligence officers preparing to target local politicians, the Slovak Foreign Ministry is carefully monitoring the situation. According to the head of Slovak diplomacy, Ivan Korčok, historical issues can flare into tension between the states even today. "We respect the sovereign right of the relevant Czech bodies to pass decisions concerning their internal affairs, including those regarding symbols and memorials displayed on the Czech soil," added Korčok on Wednesday. WW2 Marshall Konev's memorial has been a frequent target of vandals, thus the local authority of the relevant borough in Prague later decided that a new memorial to the liberation of Prague in WW2 would replace the statue.