“There has never been such a situation”: Poland did not close its borders to Ukrainian grain – Duda

Polish President Andrzej Duda commented on the situation with farmers closing the border with Ukraine. This is known from his interview with Ukrainian Radio.

Duda emphasized that the protests “swept almost the entire EU” and that they were not only organized by Polish farmers.

“Farmers are afraid of the massive penetration of Ukrainian agricultural products into the markets of European Union countries. They are afraid of this. They believe that this must be controlled because they fear for their existence. It is difficult not to understand this. They fear for their livelihood,” the president said.

He assured that negotiations on this “complex issue” are ongoing. The politician emphasized that such a situation would not have arisen if it were not for the full-scale occupation of the Russian Armed Forces.

“When a large amount of Ukrainian grain entered our Polish domestic market, this caused great confusion and also led to protests from farmers, the then Polish government had to block the possibility of importing grain into Poland. But we created transit corridors to ensure this. grain can be transported through Polish territory to ports so that it can be transported to where it is needed,” Duda explained.

He emphasized that these corridors did not exist before, and thanks to them, the amount of grain transported through Poland increased 300 times.

“There has never been a situation when Poland was closed to agricultural products from Ukraine. No, Poland closed its internal market for Ukrainian grain due to the crisis in this market and the sharp decline in prices of products and agricultural products, including grain, but through Poland did not prevent the possibility of grain transit,” the Polish president said.

He explained that the government does not control the farmers because they have the right to protest in a democratic country. If a demonstration is legal, it is “tolerated” and protected. However, Polish authorities are negotiating with farmers and unions to remove the blockade on the Ukrainian border.

“But closing the border is not the decision of the Polish government, it is not the decision of any Polish government. It is just a decision taken by farmers and farmers’ organizations,” Duda said.

He assured that the government was “trying to resolve this issue”. The politician expressed hope that the issue would be resolved peacefully through negotiations.

“In Poland, no one can attack people who are protesting peacefully, defending their own interests. This is not allowed. It is illegal,” he added.

Let us remind you that Polish farmers protested at the Ukrainian border, pouring grain from wagons and partially blocking traffic. Focus He collected all the details of a new tension on the Polish border.

GUR representative Andrey Yusov commented on the situation at the border. He called the desecration of grains “a public manifestation of xenophobia and justification of genocide.”