Russia’s foreign ministry withdrew consent for the Siberian consulate in November, requiring Polish staff to hand over the building and leave Russia by December 30. Warsaw said consular duties previously handled in Irkutsk will be taken over by Poland’s consular department at its embassy in Moscow from next year.
The move was retaliation for Poland’s decision to close Russia’s consulate in Gdansk, announced on Nov 19 by Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. Polish officials said the closure followed sabotage attacks on Poland’s railway infrastructure that prosecutors linked to individuals acting on behalf of Russian intelligence.
Poland has withdrawn permission for Russian consulates to operate when authorities concluded Russian security services were involved in activities threatening national security. As a result, Russian consulates in Poznań, Krakow and Gdansk were shut.
In response, Russia closed Polish consulates in St Petersburg, Kaliningrad and Irkutsk, as well as a consular agency in Smolensk. Poland now maintains only its embassy in Moscow, while Russia operates solely an embassy in Warsaw.
Poland’s ambassador to Russia, Krzysztof Krajewski, said Moscow’s decisions to shut Polish consulates were unjustified, adding that Poland does not conduct subversive activities on Russian territory.
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Source: PAP