Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Wednesday that Poland will no longer be sending weapons to Ukraine amid a public dispute over grain exports, the Guardian is reporting.
"We are no longer transferring weapons to Ukraine, because we are now arming Poland with more modern weapons," The Guardian reported Morawiecki saying Wednesday, in response to a question about whether Warsaw would continue to support Kyiv despite the grain exports disagreement.
Tensions arose between the two countries over Ukrainian grain exports into Polish markets.
Polish farmers are upset that Ukrainian food products are flooding Poland's market, driving prices lower and hurting their ability to earn a living.
With Polish elections on the horizon, the country's ruling Law and Justice Party is trying to win the farmers' votes by joining Hungary, Slovakia, and Croatia in banning some Ukrainian agricultural products, the report said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticized the bans and Poland during his address to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, claiming the restrictions end up helping Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine last year.
"Alarmingly, some in Europe play out solidarity in a political theater — turning grain into a thriller," Zelenskyy said during his U.N. speech Tuesday. "They may seem to play their own roles. In fact, they're helping set the stage for a Moscow actor."
Zelenskyy's comments did not go over well with Poland, with Poland's deputy foreign minister, Pawel Jablonski, complaining to Ukraine's ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Zvarych, on Wednesday.
Jablonski issued a "strong protest" over Zelenskyy's speech and "indicated that it is untrue, as far as Poland is concerned, and that the opinion is unjustified toward the country that has been supporting Ukraine from the very first days of the war."
In addition to cutting off arms from Ukraine, Morawiecki also threatened Wednesday that more items could be put on the banned list, The Guardian reported.
"I am warning Ukraine's authorities. Because if they are to escalate the conflict like that, we will add additional products to the ban on imports into Poland," he said. "Ukrainian authorities do not understand the degree to which Poland's farming industry has been destabilized. We are protecting Polish farmers."
The Polish prime minister said that while he understands Ukraine's plight given the war with Russia, he still has to prioritize the interests of Polish farmers.
"We were the first to do a lot for Ukraine, and that's why we expect for them to understand our interests," Morawiecki told Polsat News on Wednesday. "Of course we respect all of their problems; but for us, the interests of our farmers are the most important thing."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Charles Kim ✉
Charles Kim, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years in reporting on news and politics.
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