The decision by Warsaw authorities follows a planned attack on the consulate and wider tensions.
Ten employees of the Russian Consulate General in Poznan will have to leave Poland following Warsaw’s decision to close the consular office, the Polish Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.
“Three diplomats and five administrative and technical employees will leave the Russian consulate in Poznan, as well as two employees who were supposed to be accredited in Poland, but they will no longer receive this accreditation,” the ministry said. spokesperson Paweł Wroński said, adding that the institution’s staff could leave the country by early November.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said Tuesday he would order the closure of one of three Russian consulates in the country in response to sabotage, including arson, that he said was sponsored by Moscow.
Sikorski called on Russia to end hybrid warfare against Poland and its Western allies, warning that Warsaw reserved the right to “take further decisive steps” if it did not stop.
“As foreign minister, I have information that the Russian Federation is behind sabotage attempts in Poland and allied countries,” Sikorski told reporters in Warsaw.
He said he was withdrawing his consent to the opening of a Russian consulate in Poznan and that its staff would not be welcome in the country. In Poland, Russia also has consulates in Gdansk and Krakow.
“Polish diplomats, prepare yourselves”
Sikorski cited the January arrest of a Ukrainian citizen who he said confessed that Russian agents had ordered him to commit arson in the city of Wrocław. The attack was foiled and the 51-year-old man, identified only as Sergei S, is awaiting trial.
Around 20 suspected saboteurs are being investigated in Poland, Sikorski said, adding that he had been informed of other similar arson plans in allied countries.
“Putin must show restraint,” the Foreign Minister said on Monday in an interview with Polish channel TVN. “They are carrying out similar arson attacks across Europe, and we know of other similar plans from Russia.”
The pro-European government in Warsaw has repeatedly said the Kremlin is waging a hybrid war against the West in retaliation for its support of Ukraine against the ongoing full-scale Russian invasion.
The spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, responded to the authorities in Warsaw by saying that Russia would not hesitate to react.
“Polish diplomats, get ready,” Zakharova told the official Tass news agency.
Three Polish consulates remain open in Russia: in Kaliningrad, Saint Petersburg and Irkutsk.
