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Poland may hand Russian consulate’s building in Poznan over to Ukraine — minister

The lease term for this property by the Consulate General of the Russian Federation expires at the end of this month, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. Polish authorities may hand over the building of the Russian Consulate General’s office in Poznan to Ukraine if a relevant request comes from Kiev, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told journalists.

"The lease term for this property [by the Consulate General of the Russian Federation] expires at the end of this month, we are now speaking about several days remaining," the Polish minister said.

"The current network of Ukrainian consulates, given the unprecedented growth in the number of Ukrainian citizens in Poland, does not meet the needs for consular services," he continued. "Therefore, we certainly treat such a request from the Ukrainian side with the complete understanding."

On October 22, Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski announced the decision to shut down the Russian consulate general in Poznan, adding that its staff will have to leave the republic in the upcoming days.

Until now, three Russian consulates operated in Poland: in Krakow in the south, in Poznan in the West and in Gdansk in the north. Three Polish consulates remain open in Russia so far: in Kaliningrad, in St. Petersburg and in Irkutsk. In addition, Sikorski speculated that the Russian envoy might be expelled in the future.

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated earlier that Russia won’t hesitate to provide a response to Poland’s decision to shut down the consulate general in Poznan. She also noted that Moscow has once again witnessed a display of a "rampant Russophobia, multiplied by some morbid spy mania.".

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