By Jo Harper
WARSAW (AA) — The Polish government took a sharp stance on Wednesday after Ukraine's president insinuated that the country played into Russia's hands after imposing curbs on Ukrainian grain imports via its territory.
"No one in the world has provided more generous help to Ukrainians than Poles. President Zelensky (Volodymyr Zelenskyy) should remember this. But the government in Warsaw is primarily concerned with taking care of Polish citizens, including farmers," Jacek Sasin, Minister of State Assets, said on X.
"It was not like that under (former Polish Prime Minister Donald) Tusk, but it is now and will be like that," Sasin added on the social media platform previously known as Twitter.
Amid efforts to continue Ukrainian agricultural exports after the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal in July, Kyiv and its partners have been looking for land routes to reach world markets from the war-hit country.
In a bid to protect their domestic market and farmers, however, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia introduced restrictions on the sale of Ukrainian foodstuffs within their borders, extending an EU-wide measure that Brussels said it would discontinue after its expiration last week.
Kyiv has voiced opposition to the move, with Zelenskyy telling the UN General Assembly on Tuesday that it was "alarming to see how some in Europe ... are helping set the stage to a Moscow actor."
"I hope these words are not addressed to Poland," Polish government spokesman Piotr Muller told radio broadcaster RMF FM. "The name of our country was not mentioned there, so I would not like to perceive them that way."
"We are helping Ukraine militarily to defend itself — but also us — against Russia. However, in economic and agricultural matters, we must defend Polish interests," Muller added.
The head of Poland's presidential Bureau of International Policy, Marcin Przydacz, said the steps Ukraine is taking are "certainly unfair towards Poland, and for many people, they find it surprising."
Beata Szydlo, currently a European lawmaker who served as prime minister of Poland in 2015-2017, said for her part that Zelenskyy's remarks amounted to "insinuations unworthy of such a serious politician."
A previously planned meeting between Zelenskyy and Polish President Andrzej Duda did not take place at the UN on Tuesday.
Poland is a leading provider of arms and diplomatic support to Ukraine in its war with Russia.
The country's ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), is facing parliamentary elections on Oct. 15 and has vowed to protect farmers — one of the party's key voter groups — from cheaper inflows of Ukrainian grain.