MOSCOW, April 11./TASS/. The seizure of Russian diplomatic property in Poland may prompt a ‘long trail’ of consequences for both sides, Russian Ambassador in Warsaw Sergey Andreyev warned on Monday.
"This should be properly considered, since it is clear that when one of the parties violates the law this way, this entails certain consequences, decisions for the other side," the Russia diplomat told Channel One TV channel.
He cautioned against speaking straight from the shoulder or acting hastily. "As a rule, such actions entail a very long trail," Andreyev said when asked about possible consequences for the Russian diplomats and the Polish side after Warsaw’s move.
According to the diplomat, new similar actions against Russia are not ruled out. "The embassy [of the Russian Federation] itself was officially re-registered and recognized as the property of the Russian Federation," he said. "However, there is a number of facilities that the Polish side has not formally recognized as our ownership due to its obstructionist positions. Before now, the Polish authorities were not making such abrupt moves and abided by the Vienna Convention, avoiding violations, but now, quite possibly a start has been made and new similar moves may follow," Andreyev suggested.
Seizure of the building
Earlier on Monday, representatives of the Warsaw authorities entered a residential complex belonging to Russia on Jan III Sobieski Street. Specialists are inspecting its technical condition. As TASS correspondent reports from the scene, police are on duty near the building, there are people in bright vests on the territory and at the entrance.
Ukrainian ambassador in Poland Andrey Deshchytsa, who visited the territory in the morning, said that he would ask the authorities to transfer the building to Ukraine on a long-term lease. The Ukrainian flag is expected to be hoisted over the building in the coming days. According to the ambassador, the decision on the use of the complex has not been made yet. Perhaps it will house a kindergarten, a school, a Ukrainian center or a branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Poland.
The residential complex on Sobieski Street, which consists of two multi-storey buildings connected to each other, was built by the USSR in the 1970s for the families of diplomatic workers and Soviet specialists. There are about 100 apartments in the buildings. In recent years, the complex was not lived in, but its territory was guarded.