Russia closes Polish consulate in St. Petersburg
Russia announced on Thursday that it would close Poland’s consulate general in St. Petersburg in response to Poland’s decision to shut down the Russian consulate in Poznań.
The Polish Consulate General in St. Petersburg, a Russian port city on the Baltic Sea.Photo: GAlexandrova, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
The Russian foreign ministry also declared three diplomatic staff members from the Polish consulate as personae non gratae, ordering them to leave Russia by a specified date, the Reuters news agency reported.
„It was emphasised to the Polish side that Moscow has taken and will continue to take tough retaliatory measures against any unfriendly steps towards Russia,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement, as cited by Reuters.
’Dignified indifference’: Polish FM
When asked for a comment, Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said that Russia had no right to react in such a way because Poland’s decision to close the Russian consulate was a response to Moscow’s acts of sabotage in Poland and other countries.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Malta, Sikorski said: „We are receiving this Russian decision with dignified indifference because we expected it.”
He added: „Russia does not really have the right to countermeasures because the closure of the consulate in Poznań was a response to acts of sabotage in Poland and allied countries. These acts of sabotage are crimes, and it was only thanks to sheer luck that they didn’t result in casualties. But everyone knows what Russia is like.”
Sikorski said in October that Poland had decided to close the Russian consulate in Poznań in response to a series of sabotage attempts by Moscow.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski. Photo: PAP/Marcin Obara
„I have information that Russia is behind sabotage operations in Poland and allied countries,” Sikorski said at the time.
„I have therefore decided to withdraw consent for the functioning of the Russian consulate in Poznań,” he declared.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described Poland’s move as „another hostile step” and announced a „painful” response, according to reports at the time.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. Photo: Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency/ABACAPRESS.COM via PAP
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Source: IAR, PAP, polskieradio24.pl, Reuters
