Moscow– Polish Ambassador to Russia Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz has denied the accusations that Poland is avoiding dialogue with Russia on issues relating to diplomatic real estate.
“I can assure you that Poland is in no way avoiding consultations. The issue is what conditions the parties need to fulfill to begin negotiations again,” she said in an interview with Interfax.
“We are ready to resolve this problem and we believe it is inevitable. It needs to be resolved, but to do that we need to reach agreements on specific issues,” she said.
At the same time, Pelczynska-Nalecz said this dispute has nothing to do with the current exacerbation of bilateral relations between Russia and Poland.
“I believe there is no connection here. We are talking about an absolute coincidence,” she said.
“The issue of Polish real estate in Russia and Russian [real estate] in Poland has been on the agenda for many years and consultations are in progress,” the ambassador said, adding that “the issue is not political at all.”
The ambassador said Russia and Poland currently have no agreement on the use of buildings for diplomatic missions because “many years ago Russia offered certain conditions which Poland found to be overstated and rejected.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier issued a statement in which it accused the Polish authorities of systematically avoiding participation in consultations on diplomatic real estate issues, in particular, the issue of lease payments for the use of the building of the Polish general consulate in St. Petersburg.
