MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. Temporary haulage permits for cargo transit between Russia and Poland may not be extended as the ceiling of truck haulage between the two countries has been virtually reached, Russia’s Deputy Transport Minister Nikolay Asaul said Friday.
"We would like to impose quotas by the end of the year as those permits, which expire on April 15, are not sufficient, they are virtually running low, there is nothing to extend, we’ve spent them," he said, adding that "it’s crucial to negotiate quotas and exchange permits."
On Thursday, the two-day negotiations on haulage permits exchange between Russia and Poland were launched in Gdansk.
As was reported earlier the parties failed to agree on new permits for 2016 at the previous round of talks, which was followed by a halt of the truck haulage across the Russian-Polish border starting February 1. On February 19, the countries agreed on temporary resumption of cargo transit. Asaul said then that Russian and Polish freight carriers would receive 20,000 permits for each country until April 15. Until that date the parties will continue to negotiate on quotas for the whole year.