Poland orders Russian consulate in Krakow closed after blaming Kremlin for 2024 arson
Polish officials ordered the closure of Russia's consulate in Krakow on Monday after an investigation concluded that Moscow was responsible for a 2024 arson that destroyed a shopping center in Warsaw.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski announced the closure on Monday and also remarked on the matter during a visit to the U.K. It came after the conclusion of a year-long investigation into a blaze that destroyed a shopping center with some 1,400 stores last year.
"This was a huge fire of a shopping mall in Warsaw in which, just by sheer luck, nobody was hurt. This is completely unacceptable," Sikorski said. "So the Russian consulate will have to leave, and if these attacks continue, we'll take further action."
Russian officials have denied wrongdoing and condemned Poland's decision in statements to the press.
"Warsaw is continuing to deliberately destroy relations and acting against the interests of its citizens," ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, according to Russian media.
The incident comes just days before Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to meet face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Turkey on Thursday. Putin initially proposed the Thursday meeting this weekend, and President Donald Trump prompted Zelenskyy to accept the offer. Putin said the talks in Istanbul must be held without preconditions and with the goal of lasting peace.
Putin has thus far offered few, if any, concessions but is now saying talks should address the root causes of the war. He said Sunday that he planned to speak to Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan about facilitating the negotiations, which he said could result in a ceasefire.
"Our proposal, as they say, is on the table," Putin said. "The decision is now up to the Ukrainian authorities and their curators, who are guided, it seems, by their personal political ambitions, and not by the interests of their peoples."
The Russian leader said he does not rule out that Moscow and Kyiv will agree on "some new truces, a new ceasefire" during negotiations in Turkey, saying that the talks would be the first step toward a "sustainable" peace.
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