Russia demands apology from Poland over embassy riots

Moscow demanded an apology from Poland for Monday's riots around the Russian embassy in Warsaw, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Polish Ambassador to Moscow Wojciech Zajaczkowski was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry and was handed a protest saying Polish authorities have violated the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, the ministry said in an online statement. Moscow also demanded compensation for the damage of the embassy and asked Polish authorities to take measures to prevent such provocations in the future, said the statement. Rioters threw bottles and smoke pellets at the Russian Embassy, set a security guard booth on fire and attempted to get over the embassy's fence. The nearby buildings of the Russian trade mission and the center of science and culture were also damaged. Polish police broke up groups of masked youths when a nationalist march through the Warsaw turned violent. But Moscow said the reaction of Polish police was "passive and late."