The two countries have long been at odds and the Polish ambassador’s visit to Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday morning was far from a social call.<br /><br />Wojciech Zajaczkowski was summoned and told that Moscow wants an official apology after far-right rioters threw firecrackers at the Russian embassy in Warsaw. A sentry box for police was set alight.<br /><br />Russia also asked Poland to take steps to punish those responsible, protect Russian diplomatic buildings and “prevent a repeat of such provocations in the future”, the ministry said.<br /><br />Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has expressed regret for what happened, saying that “certain events” were “embarrassing” for Poland.<br /><br />“I am talking about the inadmissible act of aggression against policemen protecting the Russian embassy and against the embassy itself,” he said.<br /><br />Violence flared on Monday when far-right youths disrupted a nationalist march marking Poland’s independence day.<br /><br />The main target of the rioters appeared to be any symbol of left-wing, liberal views, but for some Poles the Russian embassy is a symbol of repression during decades of Soviet post-war domination.
