The Polish president, Andrzej Duda, stated this Sunday that the veto on the entry of Ukrainian cereal into the Polish market will be maintained but proposed that the transit of these products through Poland must be increased.
Days after the dispute between Kiev and Warsaw – where there are elections in three weeks – escalated to the point that the Polish Government put on the table the possibility of not donating more weapons to its neighbor at war, Duda’s statements point to first time in the direction of a détente.
“I think it is correct that the Polish government has maintained the veto on the sale of Ukrainian grain on the Polish market. However, I am convinced that everything must be done to guarantee the greatest possible transit,” Duda told the public channel TVP1.
“Unfortunately, during the war, this cereal barely reached those countries that really needed it, while it flooded markets such as the Polish market,” he noted.
The Polish president stated, however, that it is “completely false” that imports have completely stopped and noted that transit through Poland “continues to occur” at this time through the special corridors established for this purpose.
Duda stated that the difficult situation forced the Government in Warsaw to take “radical” measures to support its farmers in the absence of support from Brussels, unilaterally extending its veto on the import of Ukrainian products after the restrictions imposed on them expired. community level.
On this occasion, the Polish president avoided criticism of Ukraine, after in full verbal escalation last Wednesday he described the Government in Kiev as a “man who drowns and clings to everything he can” and from whom it is legitimate to “protect himself.” .
These statements came after Ukraine filed a complaint against Poland at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and threatened to ban imports of Polish agricultural products.
A meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that was due to take place this week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York was cancelled, officially due to lack of time.
Yesterday, however, on his return trip to Ukraine, Zelensky made a surprise visit to the city of Lublin, in eastern Poland, where he met with members of civil society and thanked “all of Poland” for its “invaluable support.” “.
After the community restrictions imposed at the request of the countries bordering Ukraine were lifted, kyiv has reached an agreement in principle with Romania and Slovakia, but Poland and Hungary still maintain them.