The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia announced on July 14 that it would close the Polish diplomatic mission in response to Warsawʼs "aggressive line" towards Moscow.
Reuters writes about it.
On July 14, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia summoned the Polish ambassador to Russia and handed him a note announcing the closure of the Polish consular agency in Smolensk.
Moscow was outraged by Polandʼs decision to demolish monuments to Red Army soldiers who died during the Second World War. The Russians also accused the Poles of "capturing" the school building of its embassy in Warsaw.
The Polish diplomatic mission takes care of two memorials — the cemetery of victims of mass shootings of Polish officers during the Second World War, as well as the site of the plane crash in 2010, during which Polish high-ranking officials who flew to honor the memory of those killed died.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Poland would respond in kind if Russia closed the consulate.
"We regularly receive information about aggressive diplomatic actions from Russia. If in the end it comes to it that Russia starts to liquidate our offices we will respond in kind," he said.
- Russiaʼs war against Ukraine brought tense relations between Warsaw and Moscow to a new low. Poland accuses Russia of trying to destabilize the country through disinformation campaigns and espionage. Moscow calls Warsawʼs position towards itself "hostile".