Polish Foreign Ministry head Radoslaw Sikorsky, who was in Brussels on Thursday, said he hopes other community countries will support the Czech initiative on restrictions on the movement of Russian diplomats.
However, it soon turned out that not everyone would support this solution. The German government, according to the RMF FM, is to become a great opponent of the idea that Russia is afraid to apply symmetrical retaliation.
Restrictions on Russian diplomats. Germany is against it
The German government argues that it has no advantage in solving problems that could affect diplomats from European Union countries. For this reason, the European Commission did not add the project to Russia’s 16th sanctions package, which will be officially approved on February 24th.
-EU institutions know that Berlin doesn’t want it and doesn’t propose it – an anonymous diplomat said in an interview with RMF FM.
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According to unofficial findings, there are currently only 10 EU countries behind Czech ideas, including Poland, Romania and the Baltic states. – Warsaw does a lot with this issue – says the train station interlocutor.
Radslaw Sikorsky on Czech initiative: Poland promotes it
As Radslaw Sikorsky reminded me in Brussels, Polish authorities have already implemented restrictions. As a country, we have closed, among other things, the closure of the Russian Consulate in Poznan, and subsequent facilities will also be considered.
-We also limited the right to move Russian diplomats, including employees of the Russian Embassy in Warsaw to our country (only) on Voibodeship of Mazowiekki – mention the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. did. Similar restrictions apply to consulate employees and families in Gdansk and Krakow.
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Sikorski also noted that the EU still serves around 2,000 Russian diplomats, who can become intelligence officials out of them at least 20%. At the same time, he said, “When the diplomats of the enemy state are in the territory of a particular country, he is under the observation of the intelligence agency of this country. When he leaves it, such observations are already much more difficult. is.”
The conversation regarding adding initiatives to the sanctions package is to be the subject of conversations between Polish diplomacy with partners, including head of Jan Lipavsky of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
– To limit the right to moving Russian diplomats, unanimity of EU countries is not necessary as the introduction of restrictions is within the capabilities of member states themselves – Sikorsky pointed out.
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