22 February 2024, Thursday, 10:37 1100

Duda's circle responds to Zelenskyy's call for a meeting of governments at the border

Editor: Roman Vaniyan

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The administration of the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, supported the idea of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, regarding a meeting of governments to resolve the border crisis. But they believe that it is better to hold the meeting in another place, not at the border.

This follows from a statement by the State Secretary of the President's Office, Andrzej Dera, on TVN24.

"The President advocates that this dialogue (negotiations with farmers and the Ukrainian side) take place. This is the only way to solve this big problem. The problem is two-sided and very powerful. (...) Our farmers are fighting for their livelihood. The Ukrainian nation is fighting for livelihoods. It's a fatal situation for both parties, from that point of view, because the determination on both sides is huge, and this problem just has to be solved," Dera said.

"There is no other way than negotiations, dialogue, and decisions regarding the European Union. Let me remind you that farmers throughout Europe are protesting against what is happening to the agriculture of the European Union today," he added.

Dera said that Duda "supports" the meeting of the two governments.

"The president is doing everything in this spirit to support and help Ukraine. Let's not forget that everything that is currently happening on the border - this conflict with grain, with agricultural products, is a consequence of the war," he said.

Answering the question whether, in his opinion, Andrzej Duda could be the "patron" of the meeting, Dera emphasized that it is not about who is patronizing it.

"Now we need a meeting between our Polish government, headed by Donald Tusk, with the government of Ukraine and, most importantly, with representatives of the EU," he said.

Also, Dera, commenting on Zelenskyy's idea of a meeting at the border, said that "this is not the safest" place, so it would be better to meet in Warsaw, Rzeszow, or Lublin.

"Of course, it won't be long discussions because they can't happen there. It's about a symbol. The idea is to clear the border," Dera added.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed to Poland to hold a bilateral meeting at the level of governments and, if necessary, presidents to resolve the issue of the blockade of Ukrainian grain.

On February 20, Polish farmers began a stricter blockade of the movement of vehicles on the border with Ukraine. In particular, Polish farmers blocked the railway near the Shehyni-Medyka Checkpoint and dumped grain from a freight car.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine called on the authorities of Poland to give a legal assessment of the actions of the participants of the protest action on the Polish-Ukrainian border and to ensure that the border is unblocked.

At the same time, the government of Poland confirmed that the Ukrainian grain, due to which the Ukrainian-Polish border is being blocked, does not remain in the country.