Russia to close Polish consulate in Kaliningrad
The Russian Foreign Ministry has formally withdrawn its consent for the operation of the Polish consulate in Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave located between Poland and Lithuania.
In a statement issued on Friday, the ministry wrote that the closure will be enforced "starting August 29, 2025," as a reciprocal move in reaction to Poland's decision to shut down a Russian consulate in Krakow, southern Poland, in June.
The latter was forced to cease operations following indications that Russian intelligence services were involved in an arson attack on a shopping mall in Warsaw last year.
"This decision (by Russia - PAP)... was calculated, which doesn't mean that it is right," Pawel Wronski, the spokesperson for the Polish foreign ministry, said at a special press conference held in Warsaw on Friday.
"Poland, unlike Russia, doesn't carry out sabotage actions, doesn't launch cyberattacks and doesn't act against the Russian state," he added, urging Poles to abandon plans to visit Russia as tourists.
Earlier this year, Russia withdrew the consent for a Polish consulate in St. Petersburg, as a retaliatory measure for the closure of a Russian consulate in Poznan, western Poland. Poland made the move in reaction to acts of sabotage on the country's territory which it determined to have been incited by Russia. (PAP) yb/mf
