“Poles can return to the country commercially,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maciej Wewiór during a press briefing. During the meeting with journalists, the spokesperson verbally attacked our reporter, Tomasz Grodecki, accusing him of lying. The reason was a question about the messages sent to Poles in the United Arab Emirates, as they claimed they had not received any information.
Since Saturday, an operation by Israel and the United States targeting Iran has been underway. In connection with the situation in the Middle East, countries in the region have been closing their airspace. Significant disruptions to air traffic have occurred. Many carriers have cancelled flights in the region, including PLL LOT, which decided to suspend connections to Tel Aviv (Israel) until 15 March inclusive, and to Dubai (United Arab Emirates) and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) until 2 March.
Many Poles remain in the region without the possibility of returning home. As a form of “assistance,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has offered a second hotline operating during designated hours. However, no military aircraft have been dispatched to enable Polish citizens to return safely to Poland. The Czech Republic, for example, decided to send four aircraft to Oman — three to Muscat and one to Salalah.
For now, the Foreign Ministry does not plan to send an aircraft to retrieve Polish citizens.
“Poles can return to the country commercially,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maciej Wewiór reiterated today during a press conference.
During the briefing, he stated that no Polish citizen has been harmed so far.
He also reported that all organized groups had left Israel by land, and that Poles are also leaving Jordan by various means.
High Demand, but No Additional Support from the MFA
“The situation looks somewhat different on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, around the Persian Gulf. There, the safest option is to remain in place, in shelters — missiles and drones are still flying there,” the spokesperson emphasized.
Wewiór further informed that the authorities of the United Arab Emirates had provided accommodation and meals to Poles staying in their territory until they are able to leave the country.
“In the United Arab Emirates, we have four people who can handle consular matters, including, of course, the head of our mission, and as of today, ten thousand of our citizens are registered in the Odyseusz system — we are talking only about registered individuals,” the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
Asked by our journalist, Tomasz Grodecki, whether diplomatic missions in the Middle East would therefore be reinforced, he replied:
“There is an additional person on the ground in Israel. We have launched special lines in Poland. There is no point in sending more people to the region. There is neither reason nor a way to send additional personnel there. We are trying to help ensure that information reaches our citizens.”
Later, however, he again pointed to the “workload of the missions.”
“In the UAE, there are four people plus the head of the mission; in Saudi Arabia, there are three people. Therefore, the information that has begun to circulate — that our missions are closed — is untrue,” he added, emphasizing that “it is not possible to answer every phone call, which is why we have Odyseusz.”
Attack on the Journalist
In response to Tomasz Grodecki’s question about what messages had been sent through Odyseusz to the UAE — since citizens registered in the system claim they have not received even half a message in recent days — the spokesperson attacked our journalist, accusing him of spreading falsehoods.
“Our citizens receive updated information every few hours, every four hours — regarding security, how to behave in shelters, not to stay near windows, to keep documents, medications, and charged phones with them. Information was sent that accommodation and meals would be provided; that is the declaration of the UAE authorities. Therefore, what you are saying is untrue,” he stated.