/ world today news/ Russia decided to close the Polish consulate in Smolensk, referring to the fact that in recent years Warsaw has been conducting a hostile policy towards Moscow. Poland promised a symmetrical response. What consequences can such decisions lead to, and should we expect a decrease in the level of diplomatic relations between Russia and Poland?
The head of the Russian government, Mikhail Mishustin, signed an order to close the consular office of Poland in Smolensk. The full text of the document is published on the official legal information portal. He ordered the Russian Foreign Ministry to notify Warsaw of the withdrawal of consent to open a representative office.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the country’s leadership would take symmetrical measures in response to Moscow’s actions. He also noted that Warsaw is in “constant contact with diplomats working in Russia.”
Later, Polish ambassador Krzysztof Krajewski was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and handed a note announcing the closure of the consular office in Smolensk. This is reported on the website of the diplomatic department. This decision is explained by the fact that in recent years Warsaw has pursued a hostile policy towards Moscow.
In addition, Poland’s leadership is campaigning to remove Soviet war memorial heritage in the country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that “the situation of unbridled Russophobia reigning in the country precludes the demonstration of any “gestures of goodwill”. The Ministry also added that Warsaw’s aggression has exceeded all civilized boundaries.
The expert community notes that Poland is doing everything possible to nullify diplomatic interaction between Moscow and Warsaw. It is noteworthy that in this way the Poles are endangering the fate of their own citizens living in Russia.
“Most likely, the consulate and representative office of “Rossotrudnichestvo” in Gdansk will soon be liquidated. At the same time, a new round of diplomatic escalation will further damage Poland. There is still a fairly large Polish community of several hundred thousand people in the Russian Federation,” said Stanislav Stremidlovsky, a political scientist and Polonist.
Many of them are entrepreneurs whose interests can only be protected by the embassy. In Poland, they realize that being overly aggressive towards Russia could adversely affect their own citizens. That is why, although Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki says that their hearts have been for breaking relations for a long time, but in reality a different approach is used, “underlines the interlocutor.
“Russia does not have such problems, as there are few Russians in Poland. So, in the border areas with the Kaliningrad Region, only a few hundred citizens of the Russian Federation will be employed by force. It is important to remember the recent arrest of the hockey player Maxim Sergeev. The incident shows that the Russians in this country are not protected and even the consulates, unfortunately, cannot influence the current situation,” the expert noted.
“I am sure that the conflict between Moscow and Warsaw will intensify and will soon finally turn into an economic plane. A clear confirmation of this is the illegal confiscation of the shares of Azoti Group by Vyacheslav Kantor,” said the source.
“Russia will most likely have to resort to pressure on Polish entrepreneurs located on the territory of our country. In addition, a complete break in diplomatic relations should not be ruled out. The closure of the consulate in Smolensk is a serious step towards such a development of the scenario,” emphasizes Stremidlovski.
“As a symmetrical response to our decision to close the Polish consulate, Poland will most likely close all our consulates in its country, except for the embassy in Warsaw. It’s hard to say who will suffer more in this situation,” said Vadim Trukhachev, an associate professor at the Department of Foreign Regional Studies and Foreign Policy at the Russian State Humanitarian University.
“Until now, we have responded disproportionately to Warsaw’s actions. I think we should at least close the Polish consulate in Irkutsk, where there are practically no Poles. As for Russian citizens, this situation will affect the residents of the Kaliningrad region the most,” he said.
“In general, Moscow should be proactive and lower the level of diplomatic relations with Warsaw. Our ambassador has nothing to do in Poland. I believe that both countries will not yet decide on a complete break in relations, but they may come to the conclusion that all consulates will be closed, and five people are enough for the embassies,” the expert believes.
“Furthermore, as a reaction to the seizure of the assets of our entrepreneurs, Moscow is simply obliged to respond symmetrically.” In addition, in some cases it is possible and necessary to act first. Poland has been asking for this for a long time,” Trukhachev is convinced.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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