Poles Place Retaliatory Travel Restrictions on U.S. Diplomats
Poland announced today that it has imposed travel restrictions on American diplomats in retaliation for similar controls on Polish officials in the United States.
Government spokesman Jerzy Urban said that since May 1, U.S. Embassy staff members and their families have had to notify the Foreign Ministry in advance of any trips they plan to take outside the province in which they work.
Urban, speaking at his weekly news conference, said the restrictions were imposed as a matter of “reciprocity” for travel controls announced by the State Department in early January for Polish officials and officials from other East Bloc countries.
“The point is to introduce restrictions corresponding to the degree of painfulness of the restrictions applied by the American party,” Urban said.
The United States has ordered diplomats from Warsaw Pact nations to book travel arrangements in the United States through the State Department.
The controls in both countries do not limit travel by diplomats but only oblige them to report their travel plans in advance.
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