“I have decided to withdraw consent for the operation of the last Russian consulate in our country, located in Gdańsk,” announced Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski at a press conference. He emphasized that this is not yet a full response to the recent acts of sabotage and hostile actions by that country. However, he ruled out severing diplomatic relations with Russia.
Sikorski stressed that he had repeatedly warned Russia that if it did not cease its hostile actions against Poland, its diplomatic and consular presence in our country would be further reduced.
As he noted, Russia not only failed to cease its sabotage attacks on Poland, but is escalating them. He underlined that when the intent of espionage-sabotage activity is to cause loss of life, we are dealing with sabotage and even with state terrorism.
“In connection with this, although it will not be our full response, I have decided to withdraw consent for the operation of the last Russian consulate in Gdańsk,” he said. He added that within the next few hours this would be communicated to the Russian side in an official note.
“We are not planning to sever diplomatic relations with Russia, just as other countries on whose territory acts of sabotage or terrorism have taken place are not severing theirs,” Sikorski said.
He recalled that “we had an attack on the private home of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, we had acts of sabotage in Germany, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and several other countries, we had murders”.