Poland on Wednesday warned it might impose extra bans on Ukrainian meals merchandise if the continuing dispute over grain imports escalates additional, as Warsaw takes a harder stance within the lead-up to the October elections.
Poland has been one in all Ukraine’s staunchest allies since Russia invaded the nation in February 2022, however the international locations are actually embroiled in a deepening battle over agricultural imports since Poland, together with Hungary and Slovakia, prolonged a ban on grain imports from their war-torn neighbor.
A World Trade Organization (WTO) spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday that Ukraine had taken step one in a commerce dispute by submitting a grievance to the worldwide commerce physique.
He didn’t identify the international locations though Kyiv has beforehand mentioned the grievance focused Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.
Also on Tuesday, Ukraine mentioned it might impose retaliatory import curbs on sure items from Poland and Hungary if they didn’t carry their unilateral bans, drawing a response from Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
“I warn the Ukrainian authorities, because if they escalate this conflict in this way, we will add more products to the ban on import into the territory of the Republic of Poland,” Morawiecki advised Polsat News.
Poland, Slovakia and Hungary introduced curbs on grain imports from Ukraine on Friday after the European Commission determined to not lengthen a ban on gross sales into Ukraine’s 5 EU neighbors, which additionally embody Romania and Bulgaria.
The ban was launched to guard farmers there from a surge of grain and meals imports from Ukraine because the invasion largely blocked its favored routes through Black Sea ports.
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday mentioned if Ukraine filed the grievance, Poland would clarify the scenario earlier than the tribunal.
He underscored that the ban regarded imports however not transit of Ukrainian grain.
“There are business circles that have interests in Ukraine and would like to sell grain as quickly as possible at the lowest possible cost. We have to defend ourselves against it,” he advised reporters in New York following an handle to the United Nations General Assembly.
“I would compare it to something like a drowning person… A drowning person is extremely dangerous because he can pull you to the depths … He can simply drown the rescuer.”
‘Political theatre’
Poland will maintain parliamentary elections on Oct. 15 and the ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) social gathering is going through a problem from the far proper, which accuses it of being too gentle towards Ukraine.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned in an handle to the U.N. General Assembly that Kyiv was “working hard to preserve the land routes for grain exports” and that the “political theatre” round grain imports was solely serving to Moscow.
His feedback weren’t acquired nicely in Warsaw.
“President Zelenskyy went a few sentences too far,” Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski advised non-public broadcaster Radio Zet on Wednesday.
In a stay broadcast on Facebook, Morawiecki mentioned that Warsaw was prepared to assist Kyiv however “not at the price of destabilizing the Polish market.”
Duda mentioned Ukraine ought to keep in mind that it receives assist from Poland.
“It would be good for Ukraine to remember that it receives help from us and to remember that we are also a transit country to Ukraine,” he famous.
On the Ukrainian aspect, Trade Representative Taras Kachka appeared to maneuver to ease tensions, telling Polish non-public broadcaster RMF FM that he didn’t assume that Kyiv would introduce an embargo on Polish apples and greens.
Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus advised state-run news company PAP that he took Kachka’s feedback as a manner of “calming down a certain atmosphere that had been building for two or three days.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com