Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski called the incident “state terrorism” and announced that this measure will be accompanied by other non-diplomatic actions.
WARSAW — Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radoslaw Sikorski, announced on Wednesday the closure of the last remaining Russian consulate operating in the country, located in the city of Gdansk. The decision comes in response to alleged sabotage carried out a few days ago against the Polish railway system, which Warsaw has attributed to Moscow.
Sikorski stated that Russia had been warned on multiple occasions that its consular and diplomatic presence in Poland would be reduced if it did not desist from such actions.
“When the intention behind espionage and sabotage is to cause human casualties, we are already facing state terrorism,” Sikorski affirmed in a press conference reported by the Polish agency PAP. He denounced that Russia has not only failed to stop attacking Poland but is intensifying these types of operations.
“In recent days, actions by foreign services have occurred that could have caused a railway accident and the death of many people,” he noted, referring to the alleged sabotage that took place on Sunday on a section of the railway system connecting Warsaw with Lublin.
Sikorski emphasized that the events of the past weekend constitute an act of “state terrorism” because their objective was to cause human victims. He announced that in the coming days, the decision to close the Gdansk consulate will be accompanied by other measures “not only diplomatic.”
However, Sikorski clarified that there is no intention to sever relations with Moscow entirely. He noted that similar incidents have occurred in countries like Germany, Bulgaria, and the Czech Republic without leading to a complete rupture of ties, so the Russian Embassy in Warsaw will remain open.
Russia has denied any involvement in the incident. In response to Poland’s decision, Moscow has opted to replicate the measure and will reduce its diplomatic presence, according to an announcement by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov lamented that Poland had taken this decision, which in his view lacks all “sanity” and demonstrates the degree of “degradation” in relations between Warsaw and Moscow due to the “desire of the Polish authorities.”
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