The Russian government decided to close the consular agency of Poland in Smolensk

The Russian government has decided to close the consular agency of Poland in Smolensk. Cabinet order published on the portal of legal information.

“Accept the order of the Russian Foreign Ministry to close the Consular Agency of the Republic of Poland in Smolensk with a consular district that includes the territory of the Smolensk region,” the document says.

In addition, the Russian Foreign Ministry must notify Warsaw of the withdrawal of Russia’s consent to the opening of such an agency. The order of July 14 was signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

The press service of the Cabinet called the decision was taken as a “retaliatory measure”, adding that it “allows to restore the parity of the consular institutions” of the two countries, Interfax reports. Russia took such a step against the backdrop of Warsaw’s unfriendly actions, which are anti-Russian in nature, the press service continued. They recalled the illegal confiscation of real estate of the Russian diplomatic mission in Poland and the “significant reduction” of Russia’s diplomatic presence in the republic.

April 29 in Warsaw, local authorities and police infiltrated into the school building at the Russian Embassy and demanded that employees leave it, since last year Poland decided to transfer this property to the state. May 10 School at the Russian Embassy in Warsaw resumed work in a new place.

At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation called what happened with an encroachment on Russian diplomatic property and warned that Warsaw’s actions would not remain without a tough reaction from Moscow. The embassy handed over a note of protest to the Polish Foreign Ministry in connection with the incident. In the Kremlin warnedthat Poland’s actions “do not lead to anything good.”

At the end of April, Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergei Andreev said that the Polish prosecutor’s office also withdrew funds from the accounts of the embassy and the Russian trade mission. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation admitted the introduction of asymmetric measures in response to the actions of the authorities of the republic.