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Poland only harmed itself by closing Russian consulates, embassy says

According to Russia’s Charge d’Affaires in Poland Andrey Ordash, the workload on the embassy's consular section increased significantly after Poland expelled 45 Russian diplomats in March 2022

MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. Poland has only harmed itself by deciding to close Russian consulates in the country, Russia’s Charge d’Affaires in Poland Andrey Ordash said in an interview with TASS.

Ordash said that the workload on the embassy's consular section increased significantly after Poland expelled 45 Russian diplomats in March 2022, as well as when Warsaw moved to close the Russian consulates-general in Poznan, Krakow, and Gdansk throughout 2024 and 2025. The diplomat described the situation as serious but not critical.

"The Poles' ill-considered decisions, combined with our reciprocal measures, have hurt them more painfully," the diplomat said. "We expelled an equal number of Polish diplomatic staff from Russia and demanded the closure of Polish consulates-general in Saint Petersburg, Kaliningrad, and Irkutsk." "After all, Russia's vast distances now require Polish diplomats to travel extensively for consular matters," he added.

The new notification procedure for Russian diplomats' travel in Poland has only created unnecessary paperwork for both sides, Ordash said. "In all other aspects, this has had absolutely no impact on the embassy's ability to fulfill its duty," the diplomat stressed.

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