Zelenskyy hopes new Polish government will help end border blockade

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he hopes the new Polish government led by Donald Tusk will help resolve the border blockade by Polish hauliers.

Source: Volodymyr Zelenskyy at his end-of-year press conference on 19 December, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The president noted that he considered the previous government, which was in place after the parliamentary elections in October, to be responsible for the blockade at the border.

"I felt sure these were political choices, made by government officials who had lost. And I kept saying at the time: you will lose [by adhering to] this policy, you will lose to yourselves," Zelenskyy added.

The president said Romania had "helped our farmers survive" the situation by arranging for Ukrainian products to be exported by rail despite protests in the country.

On the subject of relations with Poland in the context of the blockade, Zelenskyy said he had spoken about it with President Andrzej Duda and the two leaders had "straightened out the situation".

"And I have faith that the new [Polish – ed.] government will remove the blockade... I had a conversation with Donald Tusk. I am grateful to him for his firm stance at the EU meeting. I talked to him the night before the meeting, and he has a solid position. And I have great faith that we will straighten everything out," he added.

Background:

• The Polish hauliers’ blockade has been going on since 6 November, its key demand being the reintroduction of a permit system for Ukrainian hauliers.  
• On Monday, 18 December, the hauliers resumed their blockade of the Dorohusk-Yahodyn checkpoint after the local authorities banned the protest last week.
• They are demanding, among other things, the introduction of commercial permits for Ukrainian companies to transport goods, with the exception of humanitarian aid and supplies for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

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