MOSCOW, November 29. /TASS/. Polish authorities could shut down the remaining Russian general consulates, and Russia is prepared for any potential developments, Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreyev said during a live broadcast on the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
"It is a time when Western countries are guided by the 'highly likely' principle. What is deemed 'highly likely' quickly becomes a fact or statement. Anything is possible, so we have long been prepared for any eventuality," the ambassador said in response to a question about Poland’s potential closure of the remaining Russian consulates.
On October 22, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced the decision to shut down the Russian consulate general in Poznan and expel its staff from the country. Prior to that, three Russian consulates operated in Poland: in Krakow, Poznan, and Gdansk. Three Polish consulates remain open in Russia: in Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, and Irkutsk. Additionally, Poland's top diplomat suggested that the Russian ambassador might be expelled in the future.
On November 19, Sikorski warned that Poland might close the remaining Russian consulates.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Russia would not hesitate to retaliate against Poland’s latest actions. She also noted that Moscow was again witnessing Warsaw’s "rampant Russophobia, exacerbated by a morbid obsession with espionage."