“Had to call a locksmith”
Poland confiscates building from Russian school
4/29/2023, 8:38 p.m
Russia speaks of a “hostile act”: the Polish authorities have confiscated the building of a Russian school in Warsaw. It is to become the property of the City of Warsaw. Apparently, the Russian side initially tried to prevent the confiscation.
Poland has confiscated the building of a Russian high school in Warsaw. The school building will “in future belong to the Warsaw City Council,” said a spokesman for the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The city administration had therefore commissioned a bailiff to confiscate the building.
The city of Warsaw has “taken possession” of the building, announced Deputy Mayor Tomasz Bratek. The Russian side initially “refused” to open the school gate and the doors, Bratek told the Polish news agency PAP. “We had to call a locksmith who gave us access to the site with his tools.” The deputy of the Russian ambassador then handed over the keys to the school.
Police officers and Polish officials eventually entered the school. Items were taken out of the building and loaded into vehicles with diplomatic plates.
Moscow: “Another hostile act”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it classified the confiscation of the school building as “another hostile act by the Polish authorities and a blatant violation of the 1961 Vienna Convention”. It announced a “tough reaction and consequences for the Polish authorities and Poland’s interests in Russia”.
The Russian ambassador to Poland, Sergei Andreyev, spoke of an “illegal act”. The confiscation was “an intrusion into a diplomatic facility,” he told the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. The ambassador also pointed out that teachers and staff lived on the school premises. The school will continue in other premises of the embassy to enable the students “a good end to the school year” and exams.