MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. Russia will give its response to the closure of its Consulate General in Krakow and will notify the Polish side after necessary interdepartmental procedures, the Russian Foreign Ministry’s official spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, has told TASS.
"An adequate response to these inadequate measures will follow soon," she said. "[The move] will not be left unanswered, and an adequate response will be given."
The said the response will be "asymmetric."
In her words, "corresponding interdepartmental procedures" will be made.
"Naturally, the Polish side will be notified," the diplomat said.
On May 12, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced his decision to shut down Russia’s consulate general in Krakow, citing the results of a domestic investigation indicating Russia’s alleged involvement in a major fire at a shopping mall on Marywilska Street in Warsaw’s northern part in May 2024.
The closure of the Russian consulate in Krakow marks the second instance in which Polish authorities have leveled unsubstantiated sabotage accusations against Moscow. In October 2024, Sikorski announced that the Russian Consulate General in Poznan would be closed amid claims of Moscow’s involvement in another arson incident in Wroclaw. In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry closed the Polish consulate in St. Petersburg.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told TASS Russia is likely to close Polish Consulate General’s Offices in the country’s westernmost city of Kaliningrad and in the Eastern Siberian city of Irkutsk in response to Warsaw’s recent anti-Russian steps.