Post by account_disabled on Feb 20, 2024 10:34:53 GMT
Slovakia has said it will lift a ban on grain imports from Ukraine, bowing to EU demands and agreeing a preliminary deal with kyiv on a licensing system. The deal leaves Poland and Hungary as the only countries challenging the EU to restrict imports of Ukrainian grains, in a standoff that has divided the bloc as it seeks to support Ukraine in repelling the Russian invasion. Slovakia's restrictions on Ukrainian grain will remain in place until the new system is launched, its Agriculture Ministry said on Thursday. In exchange, will remove Slovakia from a trade complaint filed this week with the World Trade Organization. However, talks between and Warsaw have so far failed to result in an agreement, and Poland's prime minister said on Wednesday that the country would stop sending weapons to Ukraine.
Ukraine's Agriculture Minister Said Thursday that he had spoken with his Polish counterpart, Robert Telus, and looked forward to further talks. "The ministers discussed the situation, as Job Function Email Database well as Ukraine's proposal for its solution, and agreed to find a solution that takes into account the interests of both countries," Solskyi said in a statement. Telus welcomed the discussions but said Ukraine should start by dropping its WTO case. “We are always ready for talks, but the interest of Polish farmers is always the most important thing for us,” Telus said. “That's why I'm glad that Ukraine has finally started talking to us.
With us, not with Germany or the European Union over our heads.” Tensions over grains came after Brussels agreed on Friday with Kiev to lift a temporary ban on Ukrainian grains first announced in May, aimed at preventing the country's products from flooding its neighbors' markets. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has diverted more grain exports via land routes across borders with its western neighbors due to Moscow's blockade of its Black Sea ports. Under the latest agreement with the EU, Ukraine said it would implement an export control system to prevent surges in cheaper grain in the bloc. But that didn't stop Poland, Slovakia and Hungary from imposing unilateral bans, which Ukraine later challenged at the WTO.
Ukraine's Agriculture Minister Said Thursday that he had spoken with his Polish counterpart, Robert Telus, and looked forward to further talks. "The ministers discussed the situation, as Job Function Email Database well as Ukraine's proposal for its solution, and agreed to find a solution that takes into account the interests of both countries," Solskyi said in a statement. Telus welcomed the discussions but said Ukraine should start by dropping its WTO case. “We are always ready for talks, but the interest of Polish farmers is always the most important thing for us,” Telus said. “That's why I'm glad that Ukraine has finally started talking to us.
With us, not with Germany or the European Union over our heads.” Tensions over grains came after Brussels agreed on Friday with Kiev to lift a temporary ban on Ukrainian grains first announced in May, aimed at preventing the country's products from flooding its neighbors' markets. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has diverted more grain exports via land routes across borders with its western neighbors due to Moscow's blockade of its Black Sea ports. Under the latest agreement with the EU, Ukraine said it would implement an export control system to prevent surges in cheaper grain in the bloc. But that didn't stop Poland, Slovakia and Hungary from imposing unilateral bans, which Ukraine later challenged at the WTO.