Published November 09,2023
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Kyiv mentioned Thursday over 20,000 autos have been blocked on each side of its border with Poland, as Polish truckers protest for a fourth day in opposition to what they name unfair competitors from Ukrainian rivals.
Polish transport corporations have blocked border crossings with the war-torn nation since Monday, demanding the reintroduction of entry permits for Ukrainian truckers.
The European Union waived permits for Ukrainian transport corporations getting into the 27-nation bloc, of which Poland is a member, after Russia invaded Ukraine final 12 months.
“Currently, more than 20,000 vehicles are blocked on both sides,” mentioned Ukraine’s reconstruction minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, including that he had mentioned the difficulty together with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Adamczyk.
“Ukraine respects the right to protest and is ready for a constructive dialogue to resolve the situation,” Kubrakov mentioned.
“At the same time, we should note that the blockade by Polish protesters disrupts logistical routes, which already affects both the economy of Ukraine and the European Union,” he added.
The protest is the most recent in a collection of financial clashes between the neighbours, who’re historically shut allies however have seen relations endure in latest months.
The blocking of the border has primarily affected cargo vans and Ukraine didn’t make clear what number of have been non-public automobiles.
Local Polish police instructed AFP there have been round 500 vans in a 40 kilometre (25 miles) lengthy queue on the Hrebenne-Rava Ruska crossing.
“The waiting time to cross the border is approximately 160 hours,” police spokesperson Malgorzata Pawlowska mentioned.
The queue for vans at a crossing additional south in Medyka was round 55 hours lengthy, Poland’s border service estimated on its web site.
Kyiv has mentioned it has not obtained any official calls for from Polish transport corporations for how you can resolve the dispute.
“It is wrong to close the border with Ukraine during the war,” Oleksandr, a 36-year-old trucker who had been queueing for 2 days on the Rava Ruska crossing, instructed AFP. He declined to provide his surname.
Warsaw has been Kyiv’s staunchest backer in opposition to Russia since Moscow’s invasion in February 2022.
But relations between the neighbours took a downward flip throughout Poland’s common election this autumn, when its governing nationalist social gathering turned embroiled in a number of rows with Kyiv.
Source: www.anews.com.tr