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Poland cancels talks with Ukraine over corruption allegations

It is reported that the Polish Agriculture Ministry failed to solve all the problems of the farmers, which led to their mass protests

MOSCOW, May 13. /TASS/. Poland has canceled talks with Ukraine on agriculture scheduled for May 14 due to corruption allegations against some Ukrainian negotiators, Deputy Agriculture Minister Michal Kolodziejczak said.

"The talks were interrupted because some of the representatives on their side were accused of corrupt activities," he told the Dziennik Gazeta Prawna newspaper in an interview. "We had planned another round of talks for May 14, but it was canceled," Kolodziejczak explained.

"Of course, we will not hold negotiations with people accused of corruption," the deputy minister added. Kolodziejczak did not name the Ukrainian representatives accused of corruption.

In his opinion, the Polish Agriculture Ministry failed to solve all the problems of the farmers, which led to their mass protests. "We have not solved everything, because the situation is not easy," he emphasized.

The mass protests of farmers in Poland began on February 9. Farmers are demanding to limit or completely ban imports of cheap agricultural products from Ukraine, to increase support for national livestock breeding, as well as expressing their disagreement with the European Union's Green Deal strategy, which aims to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050.

On May 7, during the 16th European Economic Congress (EEC) in Katowice, a mass protest of farmers took place with the participation of the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk. In front of the building where the event was held, farmers placed wheelbarrows of manure and a black coffin, symbolizing the current situation of Polish agricultural producers.