Ukraine denies allegations of talks with Poland on possible border closure

Warsaw, Poland/Kyiv, Ukraine (Svidomi) — Prime Minister of Poland Donald Tusk says Poland and Ukraine are negotiating a temporary border closure for goods, as reported by RMF 24. However, the Ukrainian side denies this.

"The option of closing the border was not mentioned during the 4 hours of negotiations. As Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said quite clearly, this would be a very painful decision for our economies. To stop the trade, which is worth $11.7 billion annually (and even more according to Polish statistics), even for a day, is too painful. Not to mention transit, which is vital for Ukraine," said Taras Kachka, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Ukraine.

Donald Tusk said that he would discuss the introduction of a subsidy with Polish farmers to speed up the sale of Polish grain. He will meet with Polish protesters on February 29 at an agricultural summit in the Polish capital Warsaw, RMF 24 says.

"I am ready to make decisions, even difficult ones, when it comes to the border with Ukraine, always in agreement with Kyiv, so that there is no unnecessary tension between Warsaw and Kyiv, but we must find a solution that will be long-lasting," the Polish prime minister says.

According to the prime minister, Poland will also demand the same volumes of Ukrainian agricultural products as before Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine.

"The limits proposed by Brussels and Kyiv are unacceptable to us. In Brussels, Poland is going to suggest that the base period should not be 2022-2023, but the time before the [full-scale] war," Donald Tusk said.

It will be recalled that on February 9, farmers in Poland went on a nationwide strike. A few days later, Polish farmers announced that they intended to block all checkpoints on the border with Ukraine on February 20.