Polish truckers and farmers on Monday, April 29, ended a months-long blockade of several border crossings with Ukraine that strained bilateral relations, with Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky praising Poland’s efforts and pointing to the difficult negotiations, but stressing that “the main thing is that we is the result”, reports Reuters.
“Fortunately, all directions on the border with Poland have been unblocked,” said Ukrainian border guard Andriy Demchenko, adding that Polish farmers had cleared the last Rava-Rusk border crossing.
He said that trucks started crossing the border in both directions on Monday morning.
Polish border guard press representative Andrzej Juzwiak told Reuters that Ukraine can be accessed “without obstacles” through all border crossing points.
The Polish Ministry of Agriculture announced late on Sunday that the farmers, after talks with the Minister of Agriculture, Czeslaw Siekierski, have announced the end of the protests.
According to the Border Guard Service of Ukraine, trucks carrying grain products will still face restrictions. They will only be allowed to cross Poland in transit.
“I believe that such blockades are a thing of the past,” Ukrainian Ambassador to Poland Vasiliy Zvarich wrote on Facebook. “Instead of blocking, we will cooperate even more closely.”
Polish farmers and truckers have blocked border crossings with Ukraine since late last fall, fearing unfair competition.
Warsaw and Kyiv have been negotiating at different levels to resolve the issue, and Ukraine has called on the European Union to intervene. Although progress was made in March on agricultural imports, a final agreement had yet to be reached as countries sought to reconcile their economic and security interests.
Read also: Polish truckers will block Ukrainian border crossing points in protest
Follow us too Facebook, To friends and X!
Tags: Polish protesters break monthslong blockade Ukrainian border BNN
