Russia closing Polish consular agency in Smolensk to retaliate against anti-Russian actions of Warsaw

MOSCOW. July 14 (Interfax) - The Russian government has decided to close the Polish consular agency in Smolensk in retaliation against the unfriendly, anti-Russian actions of Warsaw.

"The government has ordered closure of the consular agency of the Republic of Poland in Smolensk," the Russian government press service told Interfax.

The agency opened by a government order of June 20, 2011, to develop Russian-Polish relations and to broaden humanitarian contacts between the two countries.

"Unfriendly actions of Poland's government that are anti-Russian by nature, have led to steps towards the illegal seizure of Russian diplomatic estate in the Polish territory. The Russian diplomatic presence in Poland has been considerably cut," the press service said.

"The order of the Russian government, adopted as a retaliatory measure, will help restore the parity of consular institutions of Russia in Poland, and the Polish ones in Russia," it said.

Later on Friday, Polish Ambassador to Russia Krzysztof Krajewski was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and given notice of the closure of the Polish consular agency in Smolensk, the ministry said.

In particular, the Polish ambassador was told that "Warsaw's policy, which oversteps every civilized boundary, is aggressive towards our country and includes provocations against Russian diplomats accredited in Poland, the seizure of Russian diplomatic property, and the theft of the Russian embassy's money. [This] forces us to take countermeasures," the ministry said.

"Not a single hostile step [taken by] the Polish authorities targeting the Russian Federation will go unanswered," the ministry said in a statement on its website.