Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MSZ) summoned Polish Ambassador Krzysztof Krajewski on Thursday and informed him that the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Irkutsk would be closed on 30 December. Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MSZ) announced that from the new year the tasks of this mission will be taken over by the Polish consular section in Moscow.
“On 27 November, Polish Ambassador Krzysztof Krajewski was summoned to the Russian MFA, where he was handed a note informing him that, in response to the actions of the Polish authorities, who as of 23 December are withdrawing consent for the operation of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Gdańsk, the Russian side has decided to withdraw consent for the operation of the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Irkutsk”, the Russian foreign ministry said in its statement.
MSZ spokesperson Maciej Wewiór said that Russia’s decision to close the Polish consulate in Irkutsk was a step Poland had anticipated. He noted that the consular section in Moscow will take over the consulate’s duties from the new year. The Irkutsk consulate employed three people.
During a later press briefing, Wewiór stressed that Poland is not breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia. As he added, “diplomacy also involves a certain gradation of actions”.
Asked what steps Poland might take in case of further acts of Russian sabotage, given that the Irkutsk consulate was the last operational Polish consulate in Russia, he replied: “We still have several moves we can make. We hope we won’t have to use them; we trust that Russia has understood our signal”.
He did not answer the question of what exact measures Poland could take. Asked whether Warsaw now plans any action in response to the closure of the Irkutsk consulate, he responded: “No, this is not about escalating the whole situation”.
On 19 November, Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski announced that he had decided to withdraw consent for the operation of the Russian consulate in Gdańsk, in response to Russian acts of sabotage targeting railway lines in Poland on 15 and 16 November. “We are not planning to break off diplomatic relations with Russia, just as other countries facing acts of sabotage or terrorism on their territory are not breaking them off,” Sikorski said at the time.
Also on 19 November, Russian MFA spokesperson Maria Zakharova, quoted by Reuters, said that in response to the closure of the Gdańsk consulate, Russia would reduce the number of Polish diplomatic and consular staff working in Russia.
According to information from the Polish MSZ, the Russian consulate in Gdańsk must be closed by midnight on 23 December this year, and its staff must leave Poland. According to the Gdańsk city administration, the Russians had not paid for the use of the building for many years. The city repeatedly attempted to recover the debts, whose total value for 2013–23 is estimated at around 5.5 million zloty, and with interest – over 8 million zloty.