Kyiv hopes for talks with Poland and EU over border blockade

The government has announced that talks on the border blockade are to be held with Poland and the EU this week.  Source: European Pravda, citing Reuters Details: "This week we hope to have negotiations in a trilateral format," said Taras Kachka, a Ukrainian trade representative.

He noted that the blockade may affect critical energy supplies for Ukraine, which is suffering from constant Russian attacks.

Kachka said LNG was the worst affected, and gasoline and diesel fuel to a lesser extent, adding that vital imports from the Baltic states have also suffered, not just imports from Poland. He called it a "pre-crisis situation". Ukraine and Poland held talks on the blockade last week, but both sides reported no progress.

Ukrainian authorities said on Sunday that about 3,000 mostly Ukrainian trucks, some carrying fuel and humanitarian aid, were stuck on the Polish side of the border. Kachka repeated that licences must not be taken away from Ukrainian hauliers, but said that Kyiv is ready to discuss additional rules to improve the work of both Ukrainian and Polish truckers. Jacek Sokol, a spokesman for the Polish Committee to Protect Transporters and Transport Employers, said drivers on both sides should meet to talk and try to work out a joint agreement.

"All you need is a will, a will to come and listen and understand the problems and to agree something with the other side." Earlier it was reported that the Polish truckers' strike at the border with Ukraine threatens to spread to a group of farmers who plan to join the protest at the Medina checkpoint. Since 6 November, Polish hauliers have continued to block three other border crossings with Ukraine: Yahodyn-Dorogusk, Krakivets-Korczowa, and Rava-Ruska-Hrebenne.

Yesterday Ukraine's Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure, together with specialised associations and haulage companies, set up a hub to provide food, drinking water, medicines and fuel to Ukrainian drivers stuck at the border.

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