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WARSAW – Polish Prime Minister (PM) Mateusz Morawiecki has warned Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky not to slander Poland on the world stage. It was triggered because Kiev and Warsaw continued to clash over grain exports.
“I want to tell President Zelensky not to insult Poland again, as he did recently in his speech at the UN,” Morawiecki told the crowd in the city of Swidnik, reported by RT.
“The Polish people will never allow this to happen, and defending Poland’s good name is not only my duty and honor, but also the most important task of the Polish government,” the PM said. He stressed that Warsaw would defend its interests “in the current geopolitical context.”
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York earlier this week, Zelensky said that “some of our friends in Europe showed solidarity in political theater, turning the wheat issue into a thriller.” Warsaw reacted to the speech by summoning the Ukrainian ambassador.
The dispute comes after Warsaw refused to lift a ban on Ukrainian grain, citing the need to protect farmers from the influx of cheap products from abroad.
Kiev, meanwhile, filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO), insisting that the restrictions imposed by Poland were illegal. The issue is particularly sensitive as Poland is an important logistics center for foreign arms shipments to Ukraine, and hosts Ukrainian army training.
Polish President Andrzej Duda described Kiev as a “drowning man” that risked dragging people trying to save it into the water.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko, for his part, urged leaders in Warsaw to “put aside their emotions” and focus on finding “constructive paths” to resolve the dispute.
(ahm)
