WARSAW: Poland said on Wednesday it would close the last Russian consulate in its territory and urged EU allies to restrict Russian diplomats in the bloc’s Schengen free-travel area in response to a railway explosion it blames on Moscow.
Poland, a major ally in Kyiv’s fight against Russia’s invasion, says two Ukrainians collaborating with Moscow perpetrated the weekend blast on the Warsaw-Lublin line, which connects Warsaw to the Ukrainian border.
The pair fled to Belarus, an ally of Russia, Warsaw says.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said at a news conference that the first response would be to close Russia’s last operating consulate in the northern city of Gdansk. Warsaw has previously closed Russian consulates in Krakow and Poznan over sabotage acts.
“It was not only an act of sabotage but also an act of state terrorism,” Sikorski earlier told lawmakers of the railway attack, saying a non-diplomatic response would be coming too. Moscow denies responsibility for sabotage, citing “Russophobia” in Poland, and said it would likewise limit Poland’s diplomatic and consular presence in Russia.
Sikorski also told reporters he would ask other EU nations to limit Russian diplomats’ travel in the 25-nation Schengen area, warning “this is not the end” of Poland’s response.
“We encourage our allies in the European Union to prevent Russians from enjoying the benefits of the Schengen countries, which they are trying to destroy, among other things, by pushing migrants across the border,” Sikorski said.
Poland and its European Union allies accuse Minsk and Moscow of orchestrating a migrant crisis on its border with Belarus.
Jacek Dobrzynski, spokesperson for Poland’s minister in charge of intelligence services, said that in addition to the two suspects who had fled, several other people had been detained over the railway blast, but he did not give more details.
There has been a wave of arson, sabotage and cyberattacks in Poland and other European nations since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
Poland to close Russian consulate after railway sabotage, urges EU action
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Poland to close Russian consulate after railway sabotage, urges EU action
- Sikorski also told reporters he would ask other EU nations to limit Russian diplomats’ travel in the 25-nation Schengen area
- Poland and its European Union allies accuse Minsk and Moscow of orchestrating a migrant crisis
Cross-border clash breaks out between Pakistan and Afghanistan amid rising tensions
- Border residents say exchange of fire in the Chaman border sector lasted nearly two hours
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan witnessed yet another border clash, according to officials in both countries who spoke in the early hours of Saturday, with each side accusing the other of launching “unprovoked” attacks.
Fighting erupted in Pakistan’s southwestern Chaman border sector, with an AFP report saying that residents on the Afghan side of the frontier reported the exchange of fire began at around 10:30 p.m. (1800 GMT) and continued for roughly two hours.
The incident underscored how tensions remain high between the neighbors, who have seen deadly clashes in recent months despite several rounds of negotiations mediated by Qatar and Türkiye that resulted in a tenuous truce in October.
“There has been unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban elements in the Chaman Sector which is a reckless act that undermines border stability and regional peace,” said a Pakistani security official on condition of anonymity.
“Pakistani troops responded with precision, reinforcing that any violation of our territorial integrity will be met with immediate and decisive action,” he continued.
The official described Pakistan’s response as “proportionate and calibrated” that showed “professionalism even in the face of aggression.”
“The Chaman Sector exchange once again highlights the need for Kabul to rein in undisciplined border elements whose actions are destabilizing Afghanistan’s own international standing,” he added.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have grown increasingly bitter since the Taliban seized power in Kabul following the withdrawal of international forces in August 2021.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban administration of sheltering anti-Pakistan militant groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which have carried out deadly attacks in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan, targeting civilians and security forces.
The Taliban deny the charge, saying Pakistan’s internal security challenges are its own responsibility.
The Pakistani security official said his country remained “committed to peaceful coexistence, but peace cannot be one-sided.”
“Attempts to pressure Pakistan through kinetic adventurism have repeatedly failed and will continue to fail,” he said. “The Chaman response has reaffirmed that message unmistakably.”
He added that Pakistan’s security forces were fully vigilant and that responsibility for any escalation “would solely rest with those who initiated unprovoked fire.”
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister, also commented on the clashes in a social media post, saying the Afghan Taliban had “resorted to unprovoked firing along the border.”
“An immediate, befitting and intense response has been given by our armed forces,” he wrote.
Afghan authorities, however, blamed Pakistan for the hostilities.
Border clashes that began in October have killed dozens of people on both sides.
The latest incident comes amid reports of back-channel discussions between the two governments, although neither has publicly acknowledged such talks.
