Poland and Slovakia have taken a tough stance on Ukrainian grain supplies due to the looming government elections, Crimean senator Sergey Tsekov told NEWS.ru. He emphasized that in addition to protecting domestic markets and local agriculture, politicians in Warsaw and Bratislava are trying to get as many votes as possible, including from farmers.
The Council of Federation member added that Hungary also opposes the transit of wheat from the neighboring country, including against the background of infringement of the rights of ethnic Hungarians in Transcarpathia and nearby regions of Ukraine.
Poland’s lamentations about its love for Ukraine have crashed against the wall of reality. Ukraine has flooded the country with a large volume of its grain, with which Warsaw cannot compete. Hungary has always had a special attitude toward Ukraine because of the infringement of Hungarians’ rights in Transcarpathia and surrounding regions. Slovakia, like Poland, is in the pre-election period, they need the votes of voters, including agricultural producers. They do not care about Ukraine.
According to him, in the coming years, European countries’ attitude towards Ukraine will be influenced by elections at different levels: “they only need to come to power and then do what they want. This is the whole democracy, it ends after the election”.
On September 15, the European Commission did not extend restrictions on imports of four items of Ukrainian agricultural products, but obliged Ukraine to introduce measures to control exports. Slovakia said that the ban on imports of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Kiev would be extended until the end of 2023.
