The Polish ambassador to Russia was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, the state-run news agency PAP quoted the Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau as saying on Wednesday, as tensions run high over the war in Ukraine.
"As far as our relations with the Russian Federation are concerned, we know that the Polish ambassador to Moscow has been summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry," Rau was quoted as saying at a news conference.
On Monday (May 9), Russian Ambassador Sergey Andreev was on his way to lay flowers at the Soviet Military Cemetery in Warsaw to mark the 77th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, when he was doused with a red substance on Monday by people protesting against the war in Ukraine.
The minister added that in reaction to war crimes committed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine, Poland had warned Russia against the risk of potential incidents of that kind.
"However, what happened does not in any way change our position that diplomatic representatives of foreign countries are entitled to protection ... no matter how much we feel the need to disagree with the policy of the government that the diplomat represents," PAP quoted Rau as saying.
The Polish foreign ministry on Monday described the incident as "regrettable." "Diplomats enjoy special protection, regardless of the policies pursued by the governments that they represent," it said in a statement.
The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement: "A strong protest was expressed to the Polish authorities for practically conniving with neo-Nazi thugs."
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters, PAP