The police confirmed that the consulate post will remain open until December 23, and then the building will be inspected only on an ad hoc basis. As explained by junior asp. Piotr Pawłowski from the Provincial Police Headquarters in Gdańsk, constant supervision will no longer be necessary because the facility will lose its status as a diplomatic mission.
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He added that the police office, which was located opposite the consulate, would be dismantled “at a later date for technical reasons.”
Diplomatic tensions and real estate in the crosshairs
The decision to close the consulate in Gdańsk was announced on November 19 by the head of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski. It was a response to Russian acts of sabotage against the Polish railway infrastructure. WITHAccording to this decision, Russian consulate employees must leave Poland by midnight on December 23. In response, Russia announced that it would close the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Irkutsk on December 30, which confirmed the further deterioration of relations between the two countries.
Meanwhile, the Russian embassy informed the authorities of Gdańsk that in the buildings at ul. Batorego will remain an administrative and technical employee. The vice-president of Gdańsk, Emilia Lodzińska, admitted that in such a situation the city would not be able to take over the property. The Russian side claims that these buildings are still the property of the Russian Federation and should be treated as diplomatic properties. Lodzińska firmly denied these claims, emphasizing that the owner of the facilities is the State Treasury, which is confirmed by entries in the land and mortgage register.
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“The Russian side's claims are wrong and untrue” – noted the vice-president. She also announced that the city will take appropriate legal steps to enforce its rights.
Millions of zlotys in arrears and a dispute over ownership
Russian diplomats used the property at ul. Batory since post-war times, under the agreement between the Polish People's Republic and the USSR of 1951, which allowed the building to be used free of charge. After the collapse of the USSR, the State Treasury became the owner of the property, but for decades the Russians treated the building as their property, not paying for its use.
In 2013, the city of Gdańsk began to charge fees for the use of real estate, in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, the consulate neither settled the amounts nor responded to calls. As a result, the arrears for the years 2013–2023 were estimated at PLN 5.5 million, and the interest at another PLN 3 million. The court ordered the Russian side to pay part of the arrears amounting to nearly PLN 400,000. PLN, but the matter is still unresolved.
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Maciej Wewiór, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, recalled that similar situations had already occurred in the past, e.g. in Warsaw, where the building of one of the Russian schools was taken over by a bailiff. Wewiór added that further steps regarding the Gdańsk property will depend on the court's decision.
