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Senate speaker warns Moscow mulling tit-for-tat steps over Poland’s Soviet monuments law

MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry is preparing tit-for-tat measures in response to the law on removing Soviet-era monuments passed in Poland, Speaker of Russia’s Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko told a meeting of the upper house of parliament on Wednesday.

"I know that they are preparing the appropriate [measures.] (We need to contact the Russian Foreign Ministry - TASS) so that they brief us on these steps," Matviyenko said. "Of course, we must respond adequately, not just by making some statements and expressing our indignation. Appropriate measures are required as well."

On June 22, 2017, Polish President Andrzej Duda endorsed the amendments to the law banning the propaganda of Communism or any other totalitarian regime in the names of buildings and facilities that envisage the demolition of Soviet-era monuments, including those dedicated to Red Army soldiers who liberated Poland from the Nazi occupation in 1944-1945.

The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier described Poland’s move as a deliberate provocation, which will not remain without consequences. According to the ministry, Russia has repeatedly drawn Warsaw’s attention to the fact that such actions are a violation of its obligations under international law stemming from bilateral treaties and agreements reached by Russia and Poland in 1992-1994, under which the Polish authorities must preserve and protect all such monuments.