On Wednesday, Russia vowed to take reciprocal moves against Poland regarding its decision to expel 45 Russian diplomats, marking another point of deterioration of ties between Moscow and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member Warsaw.
Prior to the confirmation of the news, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov remarked that the move demonstrates a “continuing freefall” in bilateral ties, before warning: “These actions won’t be left unanswered.”
Poland expels 45 Russian diplomats:Poland says it has expelled 45 Russian diplomats, for "activities not compatible with Polish law and for violating the norms of the Vienna Convention". pic.twitter.com/fOHdsYZUqE
— World News 24 (@DailyWorld24) March 24, 2022
Stanislaw Zaryn, the spokesperson for Poland’s counter-intelligence agency, ABW, announced that his department had prepared a list of 45 Russians who were conducting “intelligence activities” against Poland and its allies. “These are persons who function under diplomatic status, but de facto conduct intelligence activities against Poland,” Zaryn said. Citing information collected by ABW, he said, “Russian services are more and more offensive, they act more and more aggressively against Poland.”
Smoke can be seen coming from the Russian Embassy in the Polish Capital City of Warsaw, there are claims that Russian Diplomats are burning documents, the same thing was done at the Russian Embassy in the Ukrainian Capital City of Kyiv right before the Invasion of February 24th. pic.twitter.com/oQZDNMQnc6
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 22, 2022
Additionally, Polish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Łukasz Jasina remarked that Russian diplomats had been given five days to leave the country, adding that one diplomat, in particular, had been asked to leave immediately given their dangerous status. Jasina emphasised that Warsaw will not tolerate behaviour that threatens Poland and NATO’s security, adding that Moscow’s actions also jeopardise the security of Ukrainian refugees.
Russia’s ambassador to Poland, Sergey Andreev, confirmed that he had been summoned by Polish authorities with regards to the expulsion of Russian diplomats. Andreev told reporters that “there are no grounds for” Poland’s decision and declared that Russia will take its own “reciprocal steps.” He also noted that Moscow will not formally cut ties with Warsaw but will move towards “nullifying” relations.
Separately, Andreev added that the Polish government had frozen bank accounts belonging to the Russian embassy over concerns that the funds could be used for “laundering of illegally obtained money or for financing terrorism.” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki confirmed the news but did not provide Warsaw’s rationale behind the action.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have announced the expulsion of a total of 10 Russian diplomats.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 19, 2022
NATO member Slovakia also expelled three Russian diplomats over espionage charges. According to Slovakia’s Foreign Ministry, the Russian diplomats violated the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations. Following suit, NATO and EU member Bulgaria also expelled ten Russian diplomats on similar charges. The Baltic state of Latvia, too, dismissed three Russian diplomats and on Wednesday, and rendered 25 Russian citizens in Latvia persona non grata.
Poland’s current diplomatic spat with Russia adds to the increasingly worsening relations between the two countries. Responding to a question regarding Poland’s NATO proposal to send international peacekeepers to Ukraine, Peskov said that it would be a “very reckless and extremely dangerous decision.”
Meanwhile, Poland has also increased its calls for the ouster of Russia from the G20, an intergovernmental platform comprising the world’s largest economies, and has proposed itself as Moscow’s replacement.
It also recently proposed sending 28 MiG fighter jets to Ukraine via the United States’ Ramstein Air Base in Germany to fight against the Russian invasion, though this suggestion was ultimately turned down by NATO.