Poland shutters Russian consulate, accuses Moscow of 2024 Warsaw arson

[ad_1] Polish officers ordered the closure of Russia's consulate in Krakow on Monday after an investigation concluded that Moscow was responsible for a 2024 arson that destroyed a shopping mall in Warsaw.

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski introduced the closure on Monday and likewise remarked on the matter throughout a go to to the U.Ok. It got here after the conclusion of a year-long investigation right into a blaze that destroyed a shopping mall with some 1,400 shops final yr.

"This was an enormous hearth of a shopping center in Warsaw by which, simply by sheer luck, no person was damage. That is utterly unacceptable," Sikorski mentioned. "So the Russian consulate should go away, and if these assaults proceed, we’ll take additional motion."

Russian officers have denied wrongdoing and condemned Poland's choice in statements to the press.

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A hearth burns from an enormous procuring advanced in Warsaw, Poland, Could 12, 2024. (AP Photograph/Norbert Ofmanski, File)

"Warsaw is continuous to intentionally destroy relations and performing in opposition to the pursuits of its residents," ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova mentioned, in response to Russian media.

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The incident comes simply days earlier than Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to satisfy face-to-face with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Turkey on Thursday. Putin initially proposed the Thursday assembly this weekend, and President Donald Trump prompted Zelenskyy to just accept the supply. Putin mentioned the talks in Istanbul should be held with out preconditions and with the purpose of lasting peace.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet with Ukraine's Zelenskyy on Thursday. (Valentina Pevtsova, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photograph through AP)

Putin has to date provided few, if any, concessions however is now saying talks ought to tackle the basis causes of the warfare. He mentioned Sunday that he deliberate to talk to Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan about facilitating the negotiations, which he mentioned might lead to a ceasefire.

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"Our proposal, as they are saying, is on the desk," Putin mentioned. "The choice is now as much as the Ukrainian authorities and their curators, who're guided, it appears, by their private political ambitions, and never by the pursuits of their peoples."

Zelenskyy agreed to satisfy instantly with Putin following urging from Trump.

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The Russian chief mentioned he doesn't rule out that Moscow and Kyiv will agree on "some new truces, a brand new ceasefire" throughout negotiations in Turkey, saying that the talks could be step one towards a "sustainable" peace.

Fox Information' Landon Mion contributed to this report.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox Information Digital masking nationwide politics and main breaking information occasions. Ship tricks to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.