“Russia and Poland clash over diplomatic property: Violation of 1961 Vienna Convention noted”

“We consider these new hostile actions by the Polish authorities a flagrant violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and a new encroachment on Russian diplomatic property in Poland,” he quotes TASS the Russian Ministry in a statement on Saturday.

“Such a brazen step by Warsaw, which goes beyond the framework of civilized interstate relations, will not remain without a harsh response and consequences for Polish authorities and Polish interests in Russia,” it added.

A counselor at the Russian Embassy in Poland previously told TASS that Polish authorities had demanded that school personnel vacate the building by 7:00 p.m. Moscow time (6:00 p.m. CET). According to him, there were 29 people in the school, including children. He added that Polish authorities had allowed embassy staff to “take out the equipment within a week”.

Polish public television reported on Saturday that the police appeared in front of the Russian embassy in Warsaw on Saturday morning. The Polish Foreign Ministry told Reuters that the building housing the Russian Embassy school belongs to the Polish state and that Polish authorities are acting in accordance with the law.

“In our opinion, which was confirmed by the court, this property belongs to the Polish state and Russia is holding it illegally,” said Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Lukasz Jasina.

According to the Russian ambassador in Warsaw, Sergej Andreyev, the Polish authorities do not have the right to seize the building because it is diplomatic. Andreyev said earlier this week that the Polish prosecutor’s office ordered the freezing of large amounts of money in the bank accounts of the Russian embassy and trade mission in Poland.

Last March, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army, Poland announced the expulsion of 45 Russian diplomats whom Warsaw suspected of working for the Russian secret service.