Poland threatens to close Russian consulates — what preceded

Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski said that all Russian consulates in his country may be closed. This will be a response to the closure of the General Polish Consulate in St. Petersburg.

This was reported by TVP World on Thursday, December 5.

Closing of the Polish Consulate in Russia

Today, Russia announced that it is closing the Consulate General of Poland in St. Petersburg. This is allegedly a response to Poland's statements.

"Guidance on the principle of reciprocity, three diplomatic employees of the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in St. Petersburg have been declared persona non grata, who must leave the territory of Russia by the specified date," the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

At the end of October, Polish Minister of  Foreign Affairs Radosław Sikorski announced the closure of the Russian Consulate in Poznan. This was explained by the fact that Poland is protecting itself as a country and its citizens from Russian influence.

In addition to Poznan, there are two more Russian consulates in Poland, namely in Kraków and Gdańsk.

Reaction of Poland

Sikorski said that the decision to close the Russian consulate in Poznan was made in response to the Russian influence on Poland.

"Earlier, we decided to limit the areas of Poland where Russian diplomats can travel. This was not enough to warn them that we know what they are doing," Sikorski said.

The minister added that sabotage and terrorist acts by Russia will continue, and the country's government will close the remaining Russian consular institutions in Poland.

Sikorski also said that Poland expected such actions by Russia and that this Russian decision was made "with dignified indifference".

Previously, we reported that a scandal broke out at a Christmas market in the Polish city of Szczecin. The conflict was caused by the fact that pro-Russian nuns from Belarus worked in one of the units.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also visited the section of the border with Russia where the "Eastern Shield" fortifications were built. He emphasized that he felt safe.