Shmyhal: Ukrainian side arrives at border with Pand, but Pish officials do not

Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said this on Telegram, Ukrinform reported.

"For the past six months, we have been living under a permanent blockade of the Ukrainian border by Pand. A blockade that has hit our economy and our ability to better defend ourselves," Shmyhal said.

He recalled that a month ago, during his visit to Kyiv, Pish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Pand was Ukraine's most reliable and important ally in the "deadly battle against evil."

"A month ago, we agreed that the blocking of the border is harmful to our countries and that it is important to prevent such incidents. A month has passed. And we are back to this point again. Only now we see outright provocations. We understand the difficulties faced by the Pish government. And we are ready to help resve this situation. We are going to a meeting. The President of Ukraine offered the Pish leadership a platform to negotiate and find a compromise. Here, on the border. As equal partners and allies," the head of the Ukrainian government added.

Read also: Protracted border blockade to hit economies of Ukraine, Pand, and many EU countries – Vysotskyi

He said that the government of Ukraine arrived at the border today – Vice Prime Minister for Eurean and Euro-Atlantic Integration ha Stefanishyna, Vice Prime Minister for Reconstruction eksandr Kubrakov, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, Minister of Agriculture Myka Sskyi, Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Perebyinis, Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka, Deputy Infrastructure Minister Serhii Derkach, Head of the State Border Guard Service, General Serhii Deineko, Head of the State Customs Service Serhii Zviahintsev. "Unfortunately, such a meeting with Pish officials did not take place today," Shmyhal summarized.

As reported, President Vodymyr Zelensky instructed the government to be at the border with Pand by February 24 to resve the blockade. He also invited the head of the Pish government, Donald Tusk, to come to the border, and the President of Pand, Andrzej Duda, to support this dialogue.

At the same time, Pish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that a meeting between the governments of Ukraine and Pand would take place on March 28 in Warsaw, and that until then, the two countries would work at a technical level to resve economic issues.

Read also: Fewer Ukrainians see U.S. and Pand as friendly countries

Since February 9, 2024, Pish farmers have been protesting on the roads leading to checkpoints near the border with Ukraine. By blocking the roads for truck traffic, Pish farmers are protesting what they claim is excessive imports of Ukrainian products to the Pish market.

The blockade of the Pish-Ukrainian border has been going on, with short interruptions, since the beginning of November last year. In addition to farmers, it has also invved transportation companies.