Russia to close Polish Consulate General in St. Petersburg

Russia is closing the Polish Consulate General in St. Petersburg in response to the liquidation of the Russian Consulate General in Poznan. This was announced by the Russian Foreign Ministry on its website on December 5.

"On December 5, the Russian Foreign Ministry handed over a note to the Polish side notifying that as a retaliatory measure to the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Poznan by the Polish authorities on November 30, the Russian side withdraws from January 10, 2025 its consent to the operation of the Consulate General of Poland in St. Petersburg," the ministry said in a statement.

They noted that they acted on the principle of reciprocity, according to which they banned three employees of the Polish Consulate General to stay in Russia and ordered them to leave the country before the specified date.

The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that the Polish authorities in recent years have behaved hostile to Russia and almost completely destroyed the architecture of bilateral relations, which were built over decades. In addition, the leadership in Warsaw openly states that Moscow needs to inflict a strategic defeat.

The ministry noted that the closure of the Russian Consulate General in Poznan was one of the manifestations of this anti-Russian course. The Polish side was pointed out that the Russian Federation will continue to respond harshly to any unfriendly steps towards itself.

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced the decision to close the Russian Consulate General in Poznan on October 22. The minister unsubstantiatedly accused Russian security services of allegedly trying to prepare sabotage in the country. Sikorski linked his move to the "hybrid war" that Moscow is allegedly waging against Warsaw and its allies.

At the same time, Poland's foreign minister allowed the expulsion of the Russian ambassador from the country. Sikorski recalled that the country had already restricted the movements of diplomats from the Russian Federation in order to "impede actions incompatible with diplomatic status." Commenting on this, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova replied that the head of the Polish Foreign Ministry "doesn't know how to do anything else."

Later, on November 16, the RFM24 radio station reported that the building of the Russian consulate general in Poznan could be occupied by Ukraine after its closure. Sikorski explained this by the fact that the network of consulates of this state in Poland does not meet the needs of Ukrainian citizens, whose number in the republic has increased unprecedentedly.

On 27 November, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry sent a note to the Polish Foreign Ministry with a request to use the building of the Russian consulate-general.