Deputy Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Karel Gavlicek says the involvement in the explosion of the ammunition storage room in Vrbetic village ascribed to the Russian special services may have a negative impact on Russia companies’ participation in the tender for construction of the new energy block of the “Dukovan” Nuclear Power Plant, TASS reports.

Gavlicek recalled that the Czech government’s decision on foreign companies participating in the tender will be based on the information that has been drafted by the special services. The country’s counterintelligence and intelligence have been insisting to prohibit Russian companies from participating in the tender for a long time and, as reported, those companies may pose a risk to the Czech Republic’s national security.

Yesterday the Czech Republic announced the expulsion of 18 Russian diplomats who are suspected of collaborating with Russia’s special services.