(Adnkronos) – Russia has ordered the closure of the Polish consulate in St. Petersburg in retaliation for Warsaw’s closure of the Russian consulate in Poznan. This was announced by the Moscow Foreign Ministry, while Sergei Lavrov is in Malta for the OSCE summit. “Three diplomatic staff members of the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in St. Petersburg have been declared persona non grata,” the ministry statement read, ordering Polish diplomats to leave Russia by January 10, 2025.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski responded to the news by calling for Russia’s suspension from the OSCE because of the invasion of Ukraine. “Russia is destroying Ukraine, but it is also destroying the future of its country. Until it ends this brutal war, its membership in the OSCE should be suspended,” Sikorski told reporters after boycotting Lavrov’s speech at the summit. “If the acts of distraction and terrorism continue, I will close the rest of the Russian consulates present in Poland.”
