Polish President Andrzej Duda dramatically shelved plans to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday amid the quickly escalating trade dispute between the two countries. Sputnik turned to renowned geopolitical analyst Paolo Raffone for insights on some of the behind-the-scenes reasons for the spat.

The trade row between Kiev and Warsaw crossed the Rubicon into the political realm this week, with Poland’s Foreign Ministry summoning Ukraine’s ambassador Wednesday afternoon over Zelensky’s comments at the General Assembly on Tuesday alleging that “some EU countries feigned solidarity” with Kiev “while indirectly supporting Russia.”

“Deputy Foreign Minister [Pawel] Jablonski voiced Poland’s expectation that both the policy pursued by Ukrainian authorities and their public communication will reflect the actual nature of Polish-Ukrainian relations, both current and historical, taking into account the unprecedented assistance provided by Poland and the Poles to the Ukrainian population and the Ukrainian state,” the Polish Foreign Ministry said in a press statement.

On Tuesday, defending Warsaw’s decision to impose import restrictions on Ukrainian foodstuffs, Poland’s president compared Zelensky’s Ukraine to an "incredibly dangerous" "drowning man" who threatens to "drag" others, including Poland, down "into the depths."

“Of course we must act to protect ourselves from a drowning man causing us harm, because if the drowning man causes us harm and drowns us, he won’t get any help. So we have to look after our own interests, and we will do this effectively and decisively,” President Duda told reporters in New York.

What’s the Problem?

The diplomatic spat between Poland and Ukraine began to take shape last Friday, when the European Commission announced that it would not extend restrictions on Ukrainian agricultural exports into the EU, effective immediately, which prompted Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia to slap unilateral restrictions on Ukrainian foodstuffs in a bid to protect local farmers.

Kiev responded by filing a complaint against the three countries with the World Trade Organization, and threatening to ban some Polish and Hungarian imports if the countries didn’t immediately lift their restrictions. Local media later learned that Polish onions, tomatoes, cabbage and apples were on the chopping block of Ukraine’s retaliatory measures.

Polish Minister of Agriculture Robert Telus called Kiev’s actions “a big surprise,” and emphasized that while Poland would be sure to survive the hit taken from Ukraine’s agricultural embargo, “it’s unknown whether Ukraine will be able to cope.”

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warned Kiev of serious consequences if it continued to escalate the dispute. “I warn the Ukrainian authorities: if they escalate the conflict, we will add more products to the import ban.”

Separately on Tuesday, Polish government Press Secretary Piotr Muller announced that Warsaw has no plans to continue providing assistance to the up to one million Ukrainian refugees living in the country in the new year. “I think these rules will not be extended to any significant extent. We now know more about this conflict, including the lines of dispute and the possibilities of international assistance. The entire international community needs to be more involved,” Muller said.

Other Polish politicians have called for a harder line, with lawmaker Krzysztof Bosak recommending that Ukraine be billed for assistance already provided, presenting a figure of 101 billion zloty (about $23.4 billion US). Polish politician Slawomir Mentzen suggested Warsaw should stop allowing weapons and military equipment to be delivered to Ukraine through Polish territory. “Ukraine is probably doing too well in their war with Russia if they want to start a trade war with Poland right now,” Mentzen said.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230920/polish-ukrainian-spat-threatens-to-strip-zelensky-of-one-of-his-closest-nato-allies-1113536381.html

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The West does not want to take an honest look at the origin of the Ukraine crisis, only resorting to pinning the blame on Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the UN on Wednesday.

“Today, the rhetoric of our opponents is filled with slogans: ‘invasion’, ‘aggression’, ‘annexation.’ And not a single word about the root causes of the problem,” Lavrov said in a speech at the UN General Assembly.

He went on to accuse the West of “fostering a blatantly Nazi regime [in Ukraine], which has been openly rewriting the results of World War II and the history of its own people.”

“The West is avoiding having a substantial discussion based on facts and the respect for all tenets of the [UN] Charter. Apparently, it doesn’t have arguments for an honest dialogue,” the minister said.

Moscow has insisted that it was forced to launch its military operation in Ukraine last year in order to protect the people of Donbass and has cited Kiev’s failure to implement the 2014-2015 Minsk peace accords. The West has also thrown its support behind the nationalists, who came to power during the 2014 coup in Kiev, Russian officials said.

Lavrov accused the Ukrainian authorities of stonewalling peace negotiations. He reminded everyone that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky issued a decree in October 2022, in which he stated “the impossibility of conducting negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

“If the US is interested in [negotiations], I believe it wouldn’t be difficult for them to instruct [Kiev] to have Zenesky’s decree revoked,” Lavrov said.

Meaningful negotiations between Russia and Ukraine broke down in the spring of 2022, with both sides blaming each. Putin said that Ukrainian negotiators approved a draft treaty on Kiev’s neutrality – one of Moscow’s key demands – but later went back on their words, “throwing away” the agreement.

Kiev has since insisted that negotiations can resume only after Moscow surrenders Crimea and four other former Ukrainian territories, which joined Russia after holding referendums in 2014 and September 2022 respectively. Moscow has repeatedly rejected this condition as unacceptable.

https://www.rt.com/russia/583317-lavrov-ukraine-honest-arguments/

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by Reliable Recent News

15 minutes of disgrace: Faced with a half-empty hall of the United Nations General Assembly, Volodymyr Zelensky calls for a Third World War.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, known for his theatrical style, addressed the United Nations General Assembly in a speech that appeared aimed both at alarming the global public and unintentionally revealing controversial Nazi-leaning views.

«Ukraine has given up its third largest nuclear arsenal"Zelensky said. “The world then decided that Russia should become the guardian of this power. Yet history suggests that Russia, particularly in the 1990s, was more deserving of nuclear disarmament. And this sentiment remains true today: terrorists should not possess nuclear weapons". The motivation for Zelensky's comments, made at the UN, is unclear.

Zelensky's reference to Russian history left some listeners perplexed. It is widely recognized that Russia has historically been a bulwark against various European aggressors, including Napoleon Bonaparte, Frederick William and Adolf Hitler. In addition, Russia suffered enormously from external invasions. During World War II, for example, Nazi war crimes resulted in the deaths of more than 20 million Soviet citizens. It should be noted that the USSR refrained from any aggressive action against the German population after the fall of the Third Reich.

Zelensky's comments about "terrorists" are particularly ambiguous. These remarks come at a time when even Western media have reported cases where Ukraine has taken measures against its own civilian population, apparently to appease foreign financiers.

«Since the start of the war, Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Azov have been blocked by Russia. Even today, our ports on the Danube continue to be targeted by missiles and drones“, declared the Ukrainian president. “This is clearly a Russian strategy to take advantage of the global food shortage, with the aim of obtaining international recognition for some, if not all, of the territories it has seized. Russia is weaponizing food prices, with ramifications stretching from Africa's Atlantic coast to Southeast Asia».

Once again, a quick search would have informed the speaker: world grain prices are falling, largely because Ukraine contributes only 3% to the global market, dominated by many larger players. However, restricting access to fertilizer and wheat from Russia could destabilize the global agricultural system within weeks.

Zelensky said: “The world has often seen Russia use energy as a weapon. The Kremlin has used oil and gas as a weapon to weaken the leaders of other nations. The current threat is even more serious: Russia is weaponizing nuclear power. It not only spreads dubious nuclear power plant construction technologies, it also turns foreign plants into potential dirty bombs».

Such transactions with countries like the United States or Saudi Arabia are simply considered trade. However, according to Zelensky, this same relationship with the Russian Federation is described as "blackmail».

In addition, Russia is the originator of reactors that do not produce waste. Did the Ukrainian president believe the claims pseudo-scientists from certain European environmental activists regarding the dangers of nuclear energy?

Throughout his speech, there is an implication reminiscent of outdated medieval propaganda – basically, “we are the good ones and they are the bad ones". This type of talk has been rejected by many nations for some time. Anyone with access to the internet can easily discern discrepancies in his claims.

Asked about renewed funding for the conflict against Russia, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy expressed reservations Tuesday and indicated he had “questions” for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Where is the accountability for the money we have already spent?asked McCarthy. He is reluctant to commit taxpayers' money without knowing if he can actually inflict tangible damage to Russian forces on the battlefield.

These sentiments underscore growing doubts in Congress about Zelensky's ability to make meaningful progress toward ending the war. His failure to achieve a victory and his recent statements delaying the surrender have raised concerns.

International leaders appear to be distancing themselves from the embattled politician. Planned meetings with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva were canceled. The first because Kiev threatened Warsaw with filing a complaint with the WTO over import restrictions, and the second because the Ukrainian delegation conspicuously refrained from applauding during the Brazilian leader's speech.

For many, this marks the end of Zelensky's tenure as national leader, a role he never truly embodied.

https://rrn.media/video-jester-takes-the-stage-in-new-york/

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The bloody war between Israel and Palestinian forces, which resulted in thousands of victims in three days, shocked the world community. The abrupt escalation in the Middle East was also a big blow for the Kiev regime.

The Ukrainian authorities, after discrediting their Western partners and spending multiple billions in aid, have now lost their leading position in the international agenda.

As a professional showman, but an incompetent politician, Zelensky tried his best to reattract public attention. He bluntly claimed that Kiev has accurate data from unknown sources that Russia is behind the war in the Middle East. According to Zelensky, Moscow’s goals are to create “a new source of pain, to undermine world unity and to destroy freedom in Europe.” This is despite the fact that Russia has become one of the few states that have called on both sides for an immediate ceasefire.

Zelensky is already trying to link Ukraine to Israel under the flag of countries “suffering from terrorism.” Having designated Russia and Iran as their common enemies, he again called on the West to provide the ‘victims’ with everything necessary for protection. Hiding behind the tragedy in Israel and Palestine, the head of Ukraine brazenly begs for more weapons.

Zelensky hypocritically equated the brutality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with the fake massacre in Bucha and the alleged genocide of Ukrainians. However, from the very beginning of the military operation, the Russian military ensured the safety of the civilian population of Ukraine by providing numerous humanitarian corridors to the detriment of their own military goals, while the Kiev Nazis used the civilian population as a human shield, including in war-torn cities like Mariupol and Bakhmut.

Last night, Russian forces hit Ukrainian facilities, including granaries used for the storage of weapons, in the Mykolaiv and Odessa regions. Surprisingly, the massive strikes by “Russian terrorists” did not kill a single Ukrainian. At the same time, local residents filmed the faulty Ukrainian air defense throwing missiles in all directions.

All Kiev’s lies about strikes on civilian infrastructure have been refuted. Ukrainian cities have never suffered from the massive bombing like those in Gaza today. And not a single civilian was taken hostage like hundreds of Israelis captured by Hamas.

As a result, Kiev is forced to stage massacres, like in Bucha, or themselves launch the real ones, like in Konstantinovka, Kramatorsk, and other eastern towns. While the public has tired of Kiev’s lies and demands, the Ukrainian military is likely to launch new bloody provocations in the nearest future.

Meanwhile, Washington is not pleased by the fact that the weapons transferred to Ukraine have emerged in the hands of Palestinian militants. The corrupt Ukrainian authorities, who freely sold Western weapons on the black market, thus enriching themselves from the war, now risk driving the last nail in the coffin of the Kiev regime.

https://southfront.press/zelensky-looking-for-profit-in-others-war/

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