By KYIV. Nov 3 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine hopes to reach a compromise with the Polish carriers, the Polish authorities are trying to convince them to not block the movement of freight transport across the Ukrainian-Polish border, Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland Vasyl Zvarych has said.
“We really hope that we will make it to reach mutual understanding with the Polish carriers. Since everyone understands in Poland, in Ukraine, and in Europe, because we also raise the issue at the EU level – such forms of protest, the blocking of border, do harm to all of us in Ukraine and Poland, both Polish and foreign businesses,” he said on the air of the national telethon on Friday.
According to the diplomat, all efforts are currently aimed at reaching certain compromises with the carriers and explain them that most of their demands are not realistic.
“Since they either contradict the legal framework or our mutual obligations between Ukraine and the EU. For instance, the proposal to resume permits for international road transportation. I want to recall that there is an agreement with the EU which has cancelled such permits on a bilateral basis,” he said.
Zvarych also said that the carriers make demands to the Polish government, and Ukraine is in touch with the Polish agencies and the Subcarpathian and Lublin voivodeships as long as it is exactly them who play the role of negotiators.
“We act like partners here. The Infrastructure Ministry of Poland assured us that it immediately addressed the protesters with an urgent request to not block the border,” the diplomat said.
He emphasized that the Polish authorities will continue to try to convince the carriers that such methods of blocking the border are counterproductive.
“It is very good that the Polish authorities understand this as well and they are also trying to convince the Polish protesters to not block, not restrict significantly the movement across the border. We all can see that the situation on the border is already complicated. The ground transport and border checkpoints are experiencing a huge load due to Russia’s aggression. We cannot allow ourselves to create some extra obstacles during the transportation of goods the Ukrainian-Polish border in wartime. We believe that good sense will prevail and the Polish carriers will listen to us,” Zvarych said.
