Poland has issued a series of decisions that effectively ban Russian representatives, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, from attending international meetings and summits located on its territory.
After Poland decided not to issue visas to Russian representatives who were set to attend the OSCE parliamentary assembly from 24-26 November, it decided that a delegation due to arrive in Łódź on 1-2 December would also not be allowed to enter.
Poland justifies the decision, saying it is an act of solidarity with Ukraine, which is currently under attack by Russia.
But Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Federation Council, called Poland’s decision to deny Russia the visas a “scandalous” one.
“I think the most scandalous thing is Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” Lukasz Jasina, spokesman for the Polish Foreign Ministry, told Interia.pl, referring to Dzhabarov’s comment.
“We also sent Russia a second justification for the negative response to the visa application, but its content remains in correspondence between the two sides,” he added.
The AFP news agency reported that Poland had received a letter of protest from the Russian delegation over its visas.
“We expect the Russian Federation to select the members of its delegation in accordance with the current rules”, according to a source in the Polish OSCE Presidency, as quoted by the AP agency.
This delegation should not include “persons sanctioned by the European Union after Russia’s illegal aggression against Ukraine, including Minister Lavrov,” it added.
(Bartosz Sieniawski | EURACTIV.pl)
Source: euractiv.com
