Poland may stop supporting Ukraine if public opinion is against it in light of Ukraine's lawsuit with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against some EU member states, Polish Minister for the European Union Szymon Szynkowski vel Sek said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the WTO told Sputnik that Kiev has submitted a request to the organization, asking for consultations regarding a ban on the import of Ukrainian grain to Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.
"We would like to support Ukraine, but for this to be possible, we must have the support of Polish citizens on this issue. In this regard, if there is no support for such actions from the Poles, it will be difficult for us to continue to support Ukraine as we have done so far," said in an interview with the PAP news agency.
Later on Wednesday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that Warsaw would expand the list of products banned for import from Ukraine if the neighboring nation escalated the row. He added that Poland rejected all lawsuits and other legal proceedings brought against it, while accusing Kiev of failing to understand the degree to which Poland's farming industry was destabilized.
"We were the first to do a lot for Ukraine, so we expect our interests to be understood, and we will protect them resolutely. This means that we, of course, treat the problems on the Ukrainian side with respect, but the interests of our farmers, of the Polish agricultural sector are more important to us," Morawiecki said.
On September 15, the European Commission announced it would lift the ban on duty-free Ukrainian grain imports to five member states neighboring Ukraine, as well as a demand that Kiev introduce export controls. Following the decision, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia announced the unilateral extension of the ban. In response, Kiev threatened to ban the import of certain goods from Poland and Hungary if they failed to lift the grain embargo.