MOSCOW, September 20. /TASS/. The conflict between Ukraine and Poland over grain exports is not the last one, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told the media.
"Of course, it is clear that all this is not the first conflict and not the last one. There will be more of them," Peskov said. He stressed that "the Ukrainian regime will continue to demonstrate its mode of behavior and for that it will be ever less liked by the Europeans, even by such hardliners as the Poles and the Baltic states."
"More such conflicts are ahead," Peskov said. "Moscow keeps a close watch on this."
In April, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia banned the import of grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine. Later, they lifted these measures in exchange for the European Commission's decision to impose an embargo on the supplies of wheat, corn, rapeseed and sunflower seeds from Ukraine first until June 5 and then until September 15.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that Kiev was categorically against further restrictions on grain exports. He argued that the EC was in breech of the provisions of the association agreement and free market conditions. He declared that Ukraine was ready to defend its rights in court.
On September 15, the European Commission discontinued the embargo on grain and other agricultural products from Ukraine. Hungary, Poland and Slovakia announced a unilateral ban on grain imports from that country. Kiev filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization. Polish President Andrzej Duda, while commenting to journalists on the unilateral ban on the import of Ukrainian grain, said that Kiev was acting like a drowning person, desperately grasping at all opportunities. Duda stressed that Warsaw had the right to protect itself from possible harm.