Poland demands that Ukraine not "put on pause" but withdraw its claim from WTO

Warsaw demands that Kyiv pull its claim from the World Trade Organization regarding the import of Ukrainian grain rather than "put it on pause."

This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture of Poland, Robert Telus, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"We don't know what it means to suspend the consideration of the complaint. We demand the withdrawal of the complaint, as it is groundless and absurd," said Telus.

According to him, the government of Ukraine cannot file a complaint against Poland for its intention to help its farmers.

"Our appeal to the Ukrainian side is as follows: if we want to improve our relations, they should simply withdraw the complaint instead of talking about some kind of suspension," the minister emphasized.

He added that Poland does not have confirmation from the WTO about the suspension of the complaint and asks the Ukrainian side what this means.

As reported, Deputy Minister of Economy Taras Kachka said in Brussels on the sidelines of the international forum "Fields of Change: Outlining the Path for Ukrainian Agriculture" that Ukraine has "put on pause" the claim with the WTO against certain EU countries. It also continues consultations with the aim of finding a constructive solution to the "grain" issue, which would correspond to the EU policy in the field of trade, the interests of neighboring countries, and Ukraine itself.

In May, the European Commission banned the import of wheat, corn, rapeseed, and sunflower from Ukraine to Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, and Romania at the insistence of these countries. On June 5, the ban was extended until mid-September.

On September 15, the European Commission announced that the EU would not extend temporary restrictions on Ukrainian grain exports to the five countries. After that, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia announced their decision to unilaterally block the import of Ukrainian agricultural products.

Last week, Ukraine presented to the participants of the Coordination Platform an action plan for the regulation of grain exports, in particular, by introducing licenses for export operations, in order to avoid further turbulence in the markets of neighboring countries. The meeting, during which the European Commission and EU countries completed the overall evaluation of the action plan presented by Ukraine, took place in the absence of representatives from Poland and Hungary.