Polish Foreign Minister threatens to close Russian consulates remaining in the country

Poland may close the remaining Russian consulates in the country. This was announced by Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on December 5.

"The closure of the consulate in Poznan was caused by acts of sabotage in Poland and allied countries. <...> If acts of sabotage continue, I will immediately close the remaining Russian consular offices in Poland," he said at a press conference broadcast by TVP Info.

In addition, he added that in the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry's decision to close the Polish consulate general in St. Petersburg was received with "dignified indifference."

Earlier in the day, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Russia was closing the Polish consulate general in St. Petersburg, calling it a response to the liquidation of the Russian consulate general in Poznan. It said it was acting on the principle of reciprocity, according to which it banned three employees of the Polish consulate general from staying in Russia and ordered them to leave the country by a specified date.

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, the Polish foreign minister also allowed the expulsion of the Russian ambassador from the country. Sikorski recalled that the country has 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."

On November 16, it was reported that the building of the Russian consulate general in Poznan may 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.