Poland: EU and NATO not considering changing rank of diplomatic relations with Russia

The Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Poland Piotr Wawrzyk on Tuesday stated that he considerd the Foreign Affairs Ministry's expression of regret over the attack on the Russian ambassador to Poland on May 9 in Warsaw, as a step that should end this issue here. Wawrzyk further said, "I don't think that human life was in danger in yesterday's case." While speaking to the media, he said stones could have been thrown at the ambassador, and there could have been acid instead of juice on the representative, but "fortunately, this did not happen." "Fortunately, none of that happened," he added. He also said that the European Union and NATO are not considering changing the rank of diplomatic relations with Russia.

"There is no topic of changing the rank of diplomatic relations with Russia, neither from NATO nor the EU. The approach is that diplomatic missions should serve one purpose - to preserve channels of communication. This wording appears most often. No one considers postulates of this type [on lowering the level of diplomatic relations or their breakup],” he said.

On Monday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs released a statement calling the incident "regrettable". "The event which occurred today while the Ambassador of the Russian Federation was about to lay a wreath at the Soviet Military Cemetery was a regrettable incident which should not have taken place." The statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland further read, "The diplomats enjoy particular protection, irrespectively of policies pursued by their governments," it added.

Attack on Russian Diplomat

On Victory Day celebration, in Poland, Andreev visited the military memorial cemetery of Soviet soldiers on Wiki and Wigura Street in Warsaw in a diplomatic car with a Russian flag. The Russian envoy to Poland was surrounded by an aggressive crowd who were against President Putin's decision to attack Ukraine. One of the protestors moved forward and threw red paint at Andreev. However, security officials were not present at that moment, and the crowd soon surrounded him and started chanting anti-Russian slogans. After a few minutes, the police officials took charge and pushed back the crowd and escorted the diplomats to their cars.