WARSAW (Reuters) – Polish farmers protesting at the Dorohusk border crossing with Ukraine will let all trucks stuck there pass through as a gesture of goodwill, a protest leader told state news agency PAP on Wednesday.
Farmers in Poland and across the European Union have been calling for changes to restrictions placed on them by the bloc’s Green Deal plan to tackle climate change, and for the re-imposition of customs duties on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine that were waived after Russia’s invasion in 2022.
“It’s a gesture from us to the Ukrainian drivers, so that they can go back to their families and their country, which is still in a difficult situation, in the middle of a war, having to stand up to Russia,” protest leader Wojciech Los told PAP.
However, he said that this was not the end of the protests.
PAP reported that at 1200 GMT there would be a press conference at the Dorohusk crossing, after which it would be temporarily unblocked.
It was not immediately clear how long the crossing would be unblocked for. Farmers have been protesting at the border since February, following earlier disruptions by truckers.
On Saturday, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk pledged to reduce a grain surplus on the domestic market at talks with farmers, but union leaders said they would press on with protests.
(Reporting by Alan Charlish; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
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