MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it regretted Warsaw’s decision to close Russia’s last operating consulate in Poland, in Gdansk, a move it said showed a lack of common sense. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said he would withdraw consent for the functioning of the consulate in response to an explosion on a […]
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Kremlin says it regrets Poland’s closure of last Russian consulate after railway blast
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MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Kremlin said on Wednesday that it regretted Warsaw’s decision to close Russia’s last operating consulate in Poland, in Gdansk, a move it said showed a lack of common sense.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said he would withdraw consent for the functioning of the consulate in response to an explosion on a railway line that Poland has blamed on Russian intelligence.
The Kremlin has responded to the allegation by accusing Poland of “Russophobia”.
Asked about the consulate closure, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Relations with Poland have completely deteriorated. This is probably a manifestation of this deterioration – the Polish authorities’ desire to reduce any possibility of consular or diplomatic relations to zero.
“One can only express regret here… This has nothing to do with common sense.”
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov, writing by Mark TrevelyanEditing by Andrew Osborn)