Shmyhal: Ukrainian side arrives at border with Poland, but Polish officials do not
Representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine arrived at the border with Poland to resolve the blockade, but Polish officials did not. The meeting did not take place.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said this on Telegram, Ukrinform reported.
"For the past six months, we have been living under a permanent blockade of the Ukrainian border by Poland. A blockade that has hit our economy and our ability to better defend ourselves," Shmyhal said.
He recalled that a month ago, during his visit to Kyiv, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Poland was Ukraine's most reliable and important ally in the "deadly battle against evil."
"A month ago, we agreed that the blocking of the border is harmful to our countries and that it is important to prevent such incidents. A month has passed. And we are back to this point again. Only now we see outright provocations. We understand the difficulties faced by the Polish government. And we are ready to help resolve this situation. We are going to a meeting. The President of Ukraine offered the Polish leadership a platform to negotiate and find a compromise. Here, on the border. As equal partners and allies," the head of the Ukrainian government added.
He said that the government of Ukraine arrived at the border today - Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna, Vice Prime Minister for Reconstruction Oleksandr Kubrakov, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, Minister of Agriculture Mykola Solskyi, Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Perebyinis, Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka, Deputy Infrastructure Minister Serhii Derkach, Head of the State Border Guard Service, General Serhii Deineko, Head of the State Customs Service Serhii Zviahintsev. "Unfortunately, such a meeting with Polish officials did not take place today," Shmyhal summarized.
As reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky instructed the government to be at the border with Poland by February 24 to resolve the blockade. He also invited the head of the Polish government, Donald Tusk, to come to the border, and the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, to support this dialogue.
At the same time, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that a meeting between the governments of Ukraine and Poland would take place on March 28 in Warsaw, and that until then, the two countries would work at a technical level to resolve economic issues.
Since February 9, 2024, Polish farmers have been protesting on the roads leading to checkpoints near the border with Ukraine. By blocking the roads for truck traffic, Polish farmers are protesting what they claim is excessive imports of Ukrainian products to the Polish market.
The blockade of the Polish-Ukrainian border has been going on, with short interruptions, since the beginning of November last year. In addition to farmers, it has also involved transportation companies.