MOSCOW, July 11. /TASS/. Poland will respond to Russia’s actions proportionally, Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski said, commenting on Russia’s decision to close Poland’s consulate general in Kaliningrad.
"This decision by the Russian Foreign Ministry was a good but ungrounded move. <…> Poland’s Foreign Ministry will respond to Russia’s actions proportionally," he told a briefing that was aired by the TVP Info television channel. He did not specify however what Warsaw plans to do in response and called on the country’s nationals to refrain from travelling to Russia.
He noted that in line with the Russian Foreign Ministry’s note, one Polish diplomat will have to leave Russia following the closure of the consulate general in Kaliningrad.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier in the day that Russia will close Poland’s consulate general in Kaliningrad on August 29 in response to Poland shutting down Russia’s consulate general in Krakow. The ministry explained this step by "the Polish side’s ungrounded and unfriendly actions as it reduced Russia’s consular presence in Poland under an invented pretext."
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.
According to Russian Ambassador to Warsaw Sergey Andreyev, the Polish authorities have provided no evidence to back their accusations. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned about Moscow’s proportional response to Warsaw’s steps and Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told TASS that Moscow was looking at closing Poland’s consulate either in Kaliningrad or in Irkutsk.