Russia asks Poland to apologize after the ambassador was doused with syrup

The Russian Foreign Ministry on May 11 summoned Polish Ambassador Krzysztof Krajewski to protest, Reuters reported.

“Russia expects an official apology from the Polish leadership in connection with the incident and asks to ensure the safety of the Russian ambassador and all personnel at Russian foreign agencies in Poland.” The Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized in a statement.

“Decisions on next steps will be taken depending on Warsaw’s response to our requests,” the statement said.

Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreev had red substance on his face on May 9. reuters

Russian Ambassador to Poland Sergey Andreev visited the Soviet Military Cemetery in Warsaw on May 9 to lay flowers victory day fascism of Russia. Here he was surrounded by protesters protesting against Russia’s conduct military campaign in Ukraine, as reported by TASS.

As he stepped out of his car, crowds surrounded him with Ukrainian flags, red-painted signs and anti-Russian slogans. Police were not present at the time, and Russian diplomats were only able to walk a few dozen steps because they were stopped by the crowd, TASS said.

Within minutes, the crowd shouted at the diplomats and threw packages of red substance at them. Ambassador Andreev later told Russia’s Rossiya-24 television channel that the red substance was not paint but sweet syrup. Moments later, the police dispersed the crowd and escorted the Russian diplomats to the car. None of them were seriously injured.

Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau said local authorities had warned Andreev that going to the cemetery on May 9 risked causing an unintended incident, according to state news agency PAP.

“However, what has happened does not change our position that foreign diplomatic representatives are entitled to protection… regardless of how we may disagree with the policy of the government that the diplomat represents,” Rau said.

More than 3 million Ukrainians have been displaced to Poland since Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine. Warsaw repeatedly called on the West to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow, and expelled 45 Russian diplomats. Moscow responded to this with similar action.

Relations between Moscow and Warsaw continued to deteriorate after Russia stopped supplying gas to Poland.