MOSCOW, August 1 (RIA Novosti) - An attack on Russian diplomats' children in Warsaw on Sunday cannot be considered an accident and is linked to anti-Russian sentiments in Poland, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry told the Polish ambassador in Moscow Monday.

"It [the attack] is obviously connected with anti-Russian sentiments, which have recently been fueled in Poland, including by politicians' unfriendly statements," Boris Malakhov, a deputy official spokesman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told Stefan Meller. "The responsibility for the current situation in bilateral relations rests with the Polish authorities."

He said the Polish authorities had been asked to investigate the incident meticulously, punish those guilty, provide compensation and take steps to prevent any similar incidents happening in the future. In addition, the official said Russia wanted the Polish authorities to provide security for foreign diplomats and their families, as a country should do in accordance with international norms.

Malakhov stressed that the Russian party expected an official apology.

On July 31, four pupils of the high school at the Russian Embassy in Poland, three of whom were children of Russian diplomats, were returning home when they were attacked by a group of about 15 Polish teenagers and severely beaten in a park.