2024-10-22 17:29 update: 2024-10-22, 17:33
Photo: PAP/Paweł Supernak
The Polish foreign minister has revoked the consent to the functioning of the Russian consulate in Poland's western city of Poznan as Russia was behind recent sabotage attempts in Poland and allied countries.
"Its staff will be considered as personae non gratae in Poland," Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters in Warsaw on Tuesday.
"Being foreign minister, I have at my disposal the information according to which Russia had been behind sabotage attempts in Poland and allied countries," Sikorski said, repeating that this was the reason behind his decision to revoke the consent to the functioning of the Russian consulate in Poznan.
Sikorski said that he had been presented strong evidence by a prosecutor's office that a sabotage attempt had been reported in Poland and that it had been prepared by foreign intelligence.
He also stated that a district court in the south-western city of Wroclaw had recently refused to approve the potential perpetrator's voluntary submission to punishment, demanding a higher penalty.
A Ukrainian saboteur, who admitted that he had been commissioned by Russian intelligence services, was allegedly planning arson attacks in Wroclaw. Serhiy S. was detained by the Internal Security Agency at the end of January 2024.
The foreign minister also said that Poland demanded that a hybrid war against this country and its allies should be stopped.
"If the hybrid war continues, we reserve the right to take further decisive actions," Sikorski told reporters.
Pawel Wronski, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said that the decision on the closure of the consulate would be handed over to the Russian side, and that, probably in the coming days, the consulate would be closed down and its staff would have to leave Poland.
Wronski added that, according to Polish services, a dozen or so proceedings were now under way in sabotage activities and that around 20 people had already been charged.
Maria Zakharova, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, quoted by Russia's state-run RIA news agency, threatened "painful reprisals" against Poland, calling the decision another "hostile step" by the Polish government. (PAP)
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