Warsaw

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has said that his government is no longer arming war-torn Ukraine as it is focusing on building up its stocks of weapons. Speaking to Polsat news on Wednesday (September 20), Prime Minister Morawiecki said, “We are no longer transferring any weapons to Ukraine because we are now arming ourselves with the most modern weapons.”

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Since the beginning of the Russian offensive in Ukraine in February last year, Poland has been one of Ukraine’s staunchest allies. However, Warsaw and Kyiv have fallen out over Ukrainian grain exports after Warsaw extended a ban on them.

Morawiecki's remarks came after the Polish government summoned the Ukrainian ambassador to the foreign ministry to protest against comments made by President Volodymyr Zelensky following Poland's decision to extend the grain ban.

Also read | Ukraine defies Russian threat, sets off grain vessel from Black Sea port

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Earlier, President Zelensky told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that his government was working to preserve land routes for grain exports. However, he said that the political theatre around grain imports was only helping Russia.

Apart from Poland, Slovakia and Hungary also announced curbs on grain imports from Ukraine last Friday. This comes after the European Commission decided not to extend a ban on sales in five EU states, including Romania and Bulgaria.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's foreign ministry called for calm on the grain dispute. "We urge our Polish friends to put aside their emotions. The Ukrainian side has offered Poland a constructive path to resolve the grain issue," Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said in a post on Facebook. 

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Nikolenko added that Ukraine's ambassador explained Kyiv's position on the "unacceptability" of the Polish ban and suggested Kyiv's proposals "will become the basis for moving the dialogue into a constructive course."

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