Ukraine and Poland have staged at the highest level and in public the deep disagreement that exists between both countries over the export of Ukrainian grain, an issue that goes beyond the solidarity that Warsaw has shown since the war and that Kiev has decided to take to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Tensions between President Vladimir Zelenski and his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda have reached such an extreme that the bilateral meeting they had scheduled to hold this Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly has been cancelled, according to the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita. They allude to “scheduling problems.”
But the decision may have been made in the heat of the moment, after Poland and other countries in the area decided at the beginning of the week to maintain the embargo on Ukrainian grain, ignoring the European Union. In statements reported by the Polish press in New York, Zelensky accused Russia of taking advantage of the food crisis caused by itself to force territorial concessions, but also criticized “the apparent solidarity of some European allies of Ukraine, whose policies, however, , they support Russia,” he said.
“It is disturbing to see how some in Europe pretend to support us, but in the process turn the grain issue into a political thriller. They may think they are playing an independent role, but in reality they are paving the way for Russia’s plans,” he said. Zelensky, without naming specific countries.
The Polish delegation, however, took the hint and, after his intervention in the General Assembly, President Duda openly criticized Ukraine, underlining the need to protect Polish interests. He explained that Poland had not closed the borders to Ukrainian grain, but had instead established special transport corridors that had been coordinated in consultation with kyiv. “These corridors made it possible to transport twice as much grain through Poland as in February or March of this year,” he noted. In doing so, he metaphorically compared Ukraine’s performance to the desperation of a drowning man.
“Anyone who has ever been involved in rescuing a drowning person knows that someone like that is extremely dangerous; they can drag you down to the deepest depths.”
Duda added that no one can blame Ukraine, in its difficult situation, for “grabbing at everything it can,” but, continuing the simile, he added that it is “legitimate to protect oneself from harm while rescuing someone who is drowning.” “. He also recalled that the transport of weapons and humanitarian aid to Ukraine passes through Polish territory, which he said, “President Zelensky should never forget.”
Following these comments, Poland has summoned the Ukrainian ambassador “urgently.”
Slovakia, Hungary and Poland have stopped participating in the work of the European Commission’s coordination platform on the supply of Ukrainian grains in response to Ukraine’s threats to report to the WTO the embargo imposed by these countries. Representatives of the European Commission, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine participated in the platform. Given the Commission’s refusal to extend the embargo after September 15, Budapest, Bratislava and Warsaw extended the ban on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products nationwide.
According to the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Yulia Svyrydenko, threats to go to the WTO have materialized with the filing of complaints about the ban on imports of their agricultural products. The Geneva-based WTO announced on Tuesday that it had received Ukraine’s request to hold “dispute settlement talks on blocking grain exports” with Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.
These countries, however, remain steadfast. The embargo on Ukrainian grain, of poorer quality, but much cheaper than that produced by its farmers, stems from the need to protect its national markets and avoid major distortions.
For his part, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki threatened Ukraine this Wednesday with “adding more products” to the list of blocked Ukrainian imports if kyiv “intensifies the conflict” over this issue.
In statements to the Polish channel Polsat, Morawiecki formulated this warning as part of the verbal confrontation that the Governments of both countries have maintained in recent days.
The Polish head of the Executive also published a video on his social networks in which he recalled that his country “was the first to do a lot for Ukraine and that is why we hope that our interests are understood and we will defend them with all determination.”
