Poland’s PM Mateusz Morawiecki accused the Ukrainian chief of insulting Poles in his United Nations handle this week.
Poland’s prime minister has advised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to by no means “insult” Poles again, returning to harsh rhetoric in the direction of Kyiv after the Polish president had sought to defuse a simmering dispute between the 2 international locations over the difficulty of Ukrainian grain imports.
Zelenskyy angered his neighbours in Warsaw – a key army ally towards Russia – when he advised the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week that Kyiv was working to protect land routes for its grain exports amid a Russian blockade of the Black Sea, however that “political theatre” round grain imports was serving to Moscow’s trigger.
Poland prolonged a ban final week on Ukrainian grain imports in a unilateral transfer that broke with a European Union ruling. The transfer has shaken Kyiv’s relationship with Warsaw, which has been seen as one in every of its staunchest allies since Russia invaded Ukraine in February final 12 months.
“I … want to tell President Zelenskyy never to insult Poles again, as he did recently during his speech at the UN,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki advised an election rally on Friday, in accordance to the State-run information company PAP.
Earlier on Friday, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda mentioned the dispute between Poland and Ukraine over grain imports wouldn’t considerably have an effect on good bilateral relations, in an obvious transfer to ease tensions.
“I have no doubt that the dispute over the supply of grain from Ukraine to the Polish market is an absolute fragment of the entire Polish-Ukrainian relations,” Duda advised a enterprise convention. “I don’t believe that it can have a significant impact on them, so we need to solve this matter between us.”
Duda’s remark adopted after Prime Minister Morawiecki was reported as saying that Poland would not ship weapons to Ukraine amid the grain dispute.
“We are no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine because we are now arming Poland with more modern weapons,” Morawiecki mentioned on Wednesday, in accordance to an area media report.
Poland is scheduled to maintain parliamentary elections on October 15, and Morawiecki’s ruling nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) get together has are available for criticism from the far proper for what it says is the federal government’s subservient angle to Kyiv.
Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau mentioned in an article by Politico that Poland needed to see “a strong Ukrainian state emerge from this war with a vibrant economy”, and that Warsaw “will continue to back Ukraine’s efforts to join NATO and the EU”.
However, talking to reporters in New York, Rau mentioned that whereas Poland had not modified its coverage in the direction of Ukraine, there had been a “radical change in Polish public opinion’s perception” of the international locations’ relationship.
Asked by the PAP information company what it might take to enhance this notion, Rau mentioned repairing the ambiance would require a “titanic” diplomatic effort.
Slovakia, Poland and Hungary imposed nationwide restrictions on Ukrainian grain imports after the EU govt determined not to prolong its ban on imports into these international locations in addition to fellow EU members Bulgaria and Romania.
The international locations have argued that low cost Ukrainian agricultural items – meant primarily to transit additional west and to ports – get bought regionally, harming their very own farmers.
Speaking in Canada on Friday, Zelenskyy didn’t point out the stress with Poland however mentioned that when Ukraine lacked help, Russia was strengthened.
“You help either Ukraine or Russia. There will be no mediators in this war. By weakening assistance to Ukraine, you will strengthen Russia,” Zelenskyy advised reporters after a gathering with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“And a powerful Russia and what to expect from it… I think history in books and witnesses has long since answered this question. If someone wants to take a risk, fine, weaken assistance to Ukrainians,” he mentioned, in accordance to a press release posted on the Ukrainian president’s website.
“To be frank and honest, freedom, democracy and human rights must be fought for,” he added.
The Kremlin mentioned on Friday that it was watching the state of affairs between Kyiv and Warsaw intently, including that tensions would inevitably develop between Kyiv and its European allies because the dispute over grain escalates.
“We predict that these frictions between Warsaw and Kyiv will increase. Friction between Kyiv and other European capitals will also grow over time. This is inevitable,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov advised reporters.
“We are, of course, watching this closely,” Peskov mentioned, calling Kyiv and Warsaw “the main” centres of Russophobia.