The honorary consul of Russia in the Balearic Islands, Sebastià Roig, this morning acknowledged his disappointment with Russian President, Vladimir Putin as a result of the war he has unleashed in Ukraine. “At the moment, yes, he has disappointed me. I’ve only met him once, and he decorated me for the cause of the NGO Infants del Món. Putin is no fool, but the situation has become disastrous”, Roig stressed at the consulate headquarters in Palma.
The former mayor of Campos referred to a visit he made to the Kremlin in November 2018 and in which Putin awarded him with an Order of Friendship Medal for his work at the head of Infants del Món, which since the 1980s has managed the fostering of 1,300 Russian children in Mallorca. Roig was accompanied at the event by his adopted son of Russian origin and Paralympic sailing champion, Sergi Roig Alzamora.
The consul expressed his sorrow at the war in Ukraine and revealed that shortly before the outbreak of hostilities he had planned to leave his post. “A little over two months ago, for health and age reasons, I considered resigning. After ten days the Ukraine issue came up and I reconsidered. I felt that if I resigned, in the current situation it would be difficult to appoint a new consul. And it meant that nearly 3,000 Russians living in the Balearic Islands would have to move to Barcelona or Madrid for any of the passport, visa or criminal procedures that we carry out here”, he justified.
“I am a servant of the Russian people in administrative matters, not for political issues. I do not like war, a war is a war and we are all very affected by the images of death and refugees, whatever the nation“, Roig stressed, while condemning a vandalism attack on the consulate headquarters that took place recently.
Paint thrown at Russian Consulate
“Last week they threw a can of red paint on the Russian Consulate sign that we have downstairs. And on Friday they threw another can that they threw at the entrance. There was a man who wanted to put up a sign indicating that the consulate was no longer here, but I objected,” Roig said.
In any case, he indicated that since the beginning of the conflict, he has had little knowledge of any problems suffered by Russian residents on the islands. Roig referred to an episode of ‘bullying’ suffered by a child of Russian origin in a school in Palma. He also spoke of a problem that arose within “a mixed couple” made up of a person from Russia and another from Ukraine, and of some threats he himself has suffered on social networks.
“Some people on Twitter have been quite insulting, and also people whom I knew and whom I have left aside,” said Roig.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.