Tusk accused Polish government of inaction over Ukraine border blockade

The leader of the Civic Coalition, Donald Tusk, has accused the Polish government of inaction over the blockade of border crossings on the border with Ukraine by truck drivers.

In the Sejm, the leader of the Civic Platform, Donald Tusk, a potential next Poland’s Prime Minsiter, was asked about this protest. In response to journalists’ remarks that his government would have to face this problem in two weeks, he replied that he would solve this problem “not in two weeks”, the PAP media reported.

“For example, today I am meeting with experts and those politicians who will deal with these issues. Also, this afternoon we will still have a briefing on the issue of carriers and the protest at the Ukrainian border,” Tusk said.

Speaking about the appointment of the new government of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (the ruling Law and Justice party, PiS), he said that “since they pretend to have appointed a real government, they might as well pretend to deal with real problems.”

“Since they pretend to be forming a real government, they could also pretend to be dealing with real problems. Such inaction is inexcusable, because in this way we jeopardize Polish-Ukrainian relations and do not care about Polish interests”.

Donald Tusk, Civic Coalition leader

“This government puts us all in a very difficult situation. The Law and Justice party, Morawiecki and Kaczynski have fatally, very amateurishly, unprofessionally and cynically played the Ukrainian card,” the politician said.

“At the beginning, when it was appropriate, they demonstrated a radically pro-Ukrainian position, completely forgetting about Polish interests,” Tusk emphasized.

According to Tusk, a former Polish Prime Minister, “we should live in friendship and support with Ukraine, but at the same time not neglect Polish interests.”

“They completely neglected it, and when they realized that it angered people, they started playing the anti-Ukrainian card, and then turned away from the problem on the border,” Tusk said.

“This is a scandal, because even in such an issue as the drivers’ protest, they have jeopardized our fundamental interests, our relations with Ukraine, Russia, and Europe,” Tusk emphasized.

Since November 6, Polish carriers have been protesting at three border crossings with Ukraine, allowing only several cars to pass through per hour. Last week, the blockade of another checkpoint, Medyka-Shehyni, began.

Poland’s Ministry of Infrastructure announced that it had addressed Ukraine with a proposal to resolve the situation with the border blockade by Polish truck drivers.

Read more about the blockade in our article Explosive situation: Polish-Ukrainian border blocked by Polish carriers.