Russia reacted in horror after Poland confiscated the building of a school for children of Russian diplomats in Warsaw.
Warsaw – is Poland now openly taking on Russia?
At least the country does not seem to shy away from a direct confrontation with Moscow.
For example, the country pushed ahead when it came to the delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine.
And the words of the Polish ambassador to France – who declared that Poland had “no choice” but to go to war if Ukraine lost – are unlikely to have met with approval from Russia.
Now Polish-Russian relations have suffered another severe blow.
Because Poland confiscated the building of a Russian high school in Warsaw on Saturday.
The school building now belongs to the Warsaw City Council, a spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry told the
AFP
news agency .
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This screenshot from video shows a City Hall representative, accompanied by police, breaking down the gate of a school near the Russian embassy in Warsaw.
© SNA/Imago
Severe blow for Russia: Poland confiscates Russian diplomatic school in Warsaw
The City of Warsaw has "taken possession" of the building, Deputy Mayor Tomasz Bratek announced in the afternoon.
The Russian side initially "refused" to open the school gate and doors, Bratek told the Polish news agency
PAP
.
"We had to call a locksmith who gave us access to the premises with his tools." The deputy of the Russian ambassador then handed over the school keys.
Police officers and Polish officials eventually entered the school, an
AFP
photographer observed.
Shortly thereafter, items were taken from the building and loaded into vehicles with diplomatic plates.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it classified the confiscation of the school building as "another hostile act by the Polish authorities and a flagrant violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention".
It announced a "tough reaction and consequences for the Polish authorities and Poland's interests in Russia".
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Russia's ambassador speaks of Poland's "illegal act".
The Russian ambassador to Poland, Sergei Andreyev, spoke of an "illegal act".
The seizure was "an intrusion into a diplomatic facility," he told Russia's
RIA Novosti
news agency .
The ambassador also pointed out that teachers and staff lived on the school premises.
The school will continue in other premises of the embassy in order to enable the students "a good end to the school year" and exams.
Poland confiscates school and snubs Moscow: Mayor explains procedure
Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski stressed in the evening on Twitter that the school building "has no diplomatic status and is not protected by any immunity".
According to him, the seizure implemented a January 2016 judgment by a Warsaw court that obliged Russia to return the building.
The building was nationalized in 1945 and handed over to the Soviet Union by the communists in 1953.
According to the Polish authorities, there was no legal basis for this.
Rubric list image: © SNA/Imago
