Global Courant 2023-04-29 21:54:36
Moscow says Polish authorities stormed into the embassy school grounds with the aim of seizing it.
Russia has promised it will respond harshly to Poland’s illegal seizure of its embassy school in Warsaw, an act it called a flagrant violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Polish state news channel TVP Info reported that police had appeared outside the school of the Russian embassy on Kieleckiej Street in Warsaw on Saturday morning.
When asked about the incident, a spokesman for the Polish foreign ministry told Reuters news agency that the building that housed the embassy school belonged to the Polish state.
The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement that Polish authorities had entered the embassy school grounds with the intention of seizing it.
It said Poland’s “hostile actions” are a “flagrant violation” of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and another infringement of Russian diplomatic property.
“Such a bold step by Warsaw, which goes beyond the framework of civilized interstate communication, will not last without our harsh reaction and consequences for the Polish authorities and the interests of Poles in Russia,” the ministry stressed.
In a separate statement on Telegram, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova qualified the actions of the Polish authorities as “provocation”.
“Officially, Warsaw has been breaking the law for years: international law, bilateral agreements, domestic law. Behaves defiantly and unlawfully. Which can be described in one word: provocation, ”said Zakharova.
People leave the building of the Russian Embassy School in Warsaw (Kuba Atys/Agencja Wyborcza.pl via Reuters)
Poland acting according to the law: civil servant
Lukasz Jasina, a spokesman for Poland’s foreign ministry, told Reuters that Russia had the right to protest, but that Poland acted within the law.
“Our view, which has been confirmed by the courts, is that this property belongs to the Polish state and was illegally taken by Russia,” he said.
Sergei Andreyev, Moscow’s ambassador to Poland, had previously told Russian state news agencies that the building housing the embassy school was a diplomatic building that Polish authorities had no right to seize.
Already tense relations between the two countries deteriorated further during the war in Ukraine, with Warsaw positioning itself as one of Kiev’s staunchest allies and taking a leading role in persuading allies to supply it with heavy weapons.
Andreyev, the Russian ambassador, said earlier this week that Polish prosecutors had seized significant funds from the frozen bank accounts of the Russian embassy and trade mission.
In March 2022, Poland said it was expelling 45 Russian diplomats suspected of working for Moscow’s intelligence services.
