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Moscow to honor Vienna Convention, leave Ukrainian embassy building untouched — diplomat

"The termination of the land lease agreement does not affect the embassy building itself as it remains Ukraine’s government property," Alexey Polishchuk said

MOSCOW, April 8. /TASS/. Russia will comply with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, leaving the Ukrainian embassy building in Moscow untouched following the termination of the lease agreement, Alexey Polishchuk, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Second CIS Department, told TASS.

The diplomat pointed out that the lease agreement for the plot of land that the Ukrainian embassy buildings stood on had been terminated by the Moscow Mayor’s Office in response to the Kiev City Council’s decision to terminate the lease agreement for the Russian embassy’s land.

"The termination of the land lease agreement does not affect the embassy building itself as it remains Ukraine’s government property," Polishchuk said. "Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, if diplomatic relations are severed, the host country is obligated to respect and protect the mission’s premises, along with its property and archives, even in the case of an armed conflict," he added.

The Russian Foreign Ministry official noted that "the same goes for Russia’s diplomatic property in Ukraine."

Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced the evacuation of staff members from the country's overseas facilities in Ukraine on February 22, 2022, citing the need to ensure their safety. On the morning of February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation based on a request from the heads of the Donbass republics. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said later the same day that Kiev was cutting diplomatic relations with Moscow. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, in turn, announced the evacuation of diplomats. Since then, the two countries’ embassy buildings have been empty.