The Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev called on his country to consider the possibility of filing a lawsuit against Poland in order to seize the "Belvedere" palace - the current residence of the Polish president in Warsaw.
According to him, the historic building was built with Russian funds and it is time to demand its return.
The Russian politician's statement came in response to the news that the Polish prosecutor's office has filed a lawsuit over the ownership of the building of the former Russian Consulate General in Gdansk, the state news agency TASS reports. The diplomatic mission was closed at the end of last year by Warsaw's decision, which further aggravated bilateral relations.
„The current residence of the Polish president - the palace itself Belvedere – was built with money from the Russian imperial treasury. Yes, this is Russian money! Therefore, it is a question of considering filing a claim on our side to seize the palace from foreign illegal possession (rei vindicatio) of the newly emerged Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth“, Medvedev wrote on social networks.
According to him, negotiations with the Polish authorities regarding the immune status of diplomatic properties are now pointless. For this reason, Moscow should respond to Poland's legal actions with mirror claims to its emblematic state objects.