The Russian Ministry of abroad Affairs called on Polish Ambassador Krzysztof Krajewski to talk urgently. At the same time, the Polish Consulate General in Irkutsk, the last Polish outpost in the Russian Federation, was reported in the Russian state media.
From the point of view of the language of diplomacy, it is simply a very clear movement. The summoning of the ambassador to the MFA building is simply a form of authoritative "giving a yellow card" and closing the consulate by limiting the presence of the country in the territory of the second. Russia thus communicates that it does not intend to leave the last steps of Warsaw unanswered, and especially the decision to close the Russian consulate in Gdańsk.
This is simply a clear answer for Gdansk
Warsaw announced a fewer days ago the withdrawal of approval to operate the last Russian consulate in Poland located in Gdańsk. This was a reaction to the act of diversion on the Warsaw-Lublin railway line, which Polish services connected to the network operating on the request of Russia. According to investigative findings, sabotage was to be carried out by 2 Ukrainian citizens cooperating with Russian peculiar services and the aim was to bring about a disaster in land traffic. They were betrayed, among others, by the SIM card at the scene.
Closing the facility in Gdańsk was not the first specified move. Earlier, Poland had a akin reaction to suspicious fires and arsons, including in the mall close Marywilska in Warsaw, limiting the network of Russian consulates in Krakow and Poznań. The Kremlin responded symmetrically, eliminating Polish consulates in Petersburg and Kaliningrad, among others.
Now the retaliatory spiral is entering another phase. After the Polish decision on Gdańsk, Russian MFA spokesperson Maria Zacharowa announced that Moscow would "reduce the diplomatic-consular presence of Poland in Russia". The closure of the consulate in Irkutsk is simply a materialization of this threat and a clear signal that the Kremlin treats the Warsaw movement as a blow requiring answers.
Siberian gap on the consular map of Poland
The liquidation of the Consulate General in Irkutsk has, above all, applicable consequences for Poles surviving or working in Siberia and the Russian Far East. So far, this facility has served immense territory – from Bajkal to Yakucja. After its closure, all matters of Polish citizens will be accumulated in the embassy in Moscow.
In practice, this means longer procedures, more long-distance formalities and more nuisance, e.g. in document-making, legalization of stay or crisis aid. RMF FM reporter Krzysztof Berenda, however, heard in the Polish MFA that the decision of the Russians is not amazing and our diplomacy is ready for that. The announcements of cutting Polish consular presence in the Federation have appeared since Warsaw decided to close the Russian facility in Gdańsk.
