Poland prepares response to sabotage, closes last Russian consulate

Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski announced on Monday that the country would soon respond to the explosion on the Warsaw-Lublin railway line, which he described as an act of sabotage and state terrorism.

Poland blamed two Ukrainians working with Russian intelligence for the incident over the weekend. Both were supposed to have fled to Belarus. According to Sikorski, there will not only be a diplomatic response, but also further concrete steps in the coming days.

Poland subsequently announced that it would withdraw its approval for the operation of the last Russian consulate in the country, namely in Gdansk. The Kremlin described the move as irrational and accused Poland of Russophobia. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that relations with Warsaw had completely collapsed and that the Polish authorities were trying to eliminate all diplomatic contacts.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova added, according to the TASS news agency, that Moscow would reduce Poland's diplomatic and consular representation in the country in response to the closure of the consulate in Gdansk.

(reuters, lud)