Warsaw (Union)
Warsaw and Kiev announced yesterday that they had agreed to accelerate the transfer of Ukrainian grain exports that pass through Poland to a third country, in a first step towards resolving the “grain crisis” between the two parties.
The step is considered the most prominent progress achieved in the file since Poland’s imposition of a ban on Ukrainian grain imports sparked a diplomatic controversy between the two allied countries.
The government in Warsaw, which is preparing for general elections scheduled for October 15, said that the aim of the ban was to protect local farmers from the collapse of grain prices.
Ukrainian grain exports passing through Poland on their way to global markets in Africa and the Middle East in particular are still allowed.
Under the agreement signed yesterday, which is also linked to Lithuania, part of the Ukrainian grain intended for global markets will pass directly from Poland without undergoing quality checks at the Polish border.
“We agreed on an important issue,” Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Tilos told reporters after holding an online meeting with ministers from Ukraine and Lithuania.
He added: “As of Wednesday, grain exports, destined for global markets via Lithuania, will be subject to checking procedures at a Lithuanian port and not at the Polish-Ukrainian border.”
The Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture, in turn, confirmed that the agreement “will accelerate the transportation of grain through Poland.”
She added that Ukraine and Lithuania “support this control mechanism and consider it a constructive step.”
After the ban imposed by Russia on Ukrainian ports overlooking the Black Sea, which is considered the main route for its exports, the European Union canceled customs duties imposed on Ukrainian grains in May 2022 so that it could be transported to global markets by land through the bloc’s countries.
However, logistical problems led to an accumulation of grains in the European Union countries neighboring Ukraine, which subsequently led to a decline in prices locally.
The European Union allowed several countries to impose a temporary embargo on Ukrainian grain, on the condition that transport routes remain open. Brussels ended these restrictions in mid-September, and Kiev pledged to strengthen control of the flow of exports on its part.
But Poland, Hungary and Slovakia unilaterally extended the embargo, which prompted Kiev to file a lawsuit against the three countries before the World Trade Organization.
Negotiations have begun on allowing Ukrainian grain to enter the Polish domestic market, but they are progressing slowly.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reported on September 28 that the grain crisis was harming both countries. He told Interfax-Ukraine: “We delivered clear messages to Poland about our commitment to a constructive solution.”
He added: “We do not need this grain crisis as is the case with Poland.”
Poland has been considered one of Ukraine’s most prominent supporters since the start of the Russian military operation in February 2022, and is one of the most important arms suppliers to Kiev.
The agreement between Poland and Ukraine came the day after a historic meeting that brought together European Union foreign ministers in the capital, Kiev, in a meeting held for the first time outside the bloc’s borders.
European Union foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said in a statement on social media, “We are holding a historic meeting of European Union foreign ministers here in Ukraine, the candidate country and next member of the European Union.”
He added that the goal of the meeting is “to express our solidarity and support for the Ukrainian people,” acknowledging that the meeting “does not aim to reach concrete results and decisions.”
The foreign ministers of Hungary, Poland and Latvia did not attend the summit, according to a Ukrainian government official.
Meanwhile, Oleksiy Honcharenko, a local Ukrainian member of parliament, said yesterday that two ships sailing under the flags of the Marshall Islands and Cameroon were heading towards the port of Odessa on the Black Sea.
The MP did not provide any details in his announcement via Telegram other than the names of the two ships, Equator and Maranta, but he posted pictures of them.
A senior Ukrainian government official said five more ships were on their way to Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea, through a new corridor open mostly to agricultural exports after Russia’s decision to withdraw from a UN-brokered deal to export shipments.
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