Sergei Andreev has been summoned for 11 a.m. on Monday, Poland’s state news agency PAP reported.
Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said: “He [Andreev] will be informed that Poland refuses to recognise the pseudo-referenda in Ukraine and attempts to incorporate parts of Ukrainian territory into Russia.”
Last Friday, Russian President Putin signed documents to incorporate four regions of Ukraine into Russia at a televised ceremony in the Kremlin.
The move came after Russia held what it called referendums in occupied areas of Ukraine and declared the annexation of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
Poland’s Przydacz told reporters on Monday that other countries would also summon Russian ambassadors to register their refusal to accept Russia’s attempt to annex parts of Ukraine.
“We agreed with our colleagues on the European level that all of our countries would summon Russian ambassadors, more or less on the same day, to present such a stance, which is shared by all our countries,” he said.
Poland condemns Russia’s attempt to annex Ukrainian regions
On Friday, Poland’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it "condemns in the strongest terms the illegal acts of 'recognition of independence' and 'incorporation' into the Russian Federation of parts of Ukraine’s regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia."
It added the "Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia constitute an integral part of Ukraine in accordance with international law."
The Polish foreign ministry also said that Poland "does not and will not recognize the results of the pseudo-referenda" carried out in these areas between September 23 and 27.
"The Republic of Poland does not and will not recognize the decrees of the President of Russia concerning annexation of the abovementioned territories, promulgated on September 29 and 30," the foreign ministry in Warsaw said.
It added: "These acts are a direct violation of international law and yet another daring attempt at seizing parts of Ukrainian territory by Russia. They confirm that Russia seeks escalation of the conflict and rejects its peaceful settlement."
EU leaders condemn 'illegal annexation'
Also on Friday, the 27 European Union national leaders condemned the Kremlin’s annexation of four Ukrainian regions in a joint declaration.
They said: “We firmly reject and unequivocally condemn the illegal annexation by Russia of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a tweet: “All territories illegally occupied by Russian invaders are Ukrainian land and will always be part of this sovereign nation.”
Putin’s attempt to annex four Ukrainian regions is the third violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine that has been formally approved by the Kremlin, news outlets reported.
In 2014, Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, while on February 21, 2022, it recognised the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics in eastern Ukraine as independent states.
Putin then cited “the defence of the Russian-speaking population of the Donbas region," which encompasses Donetsk and Luhansk, as a propaganda justification for his invasion of Ukraine, the onet.pl website reported.
Monday is day 222 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, onet.pl