Poland Harshly Criticized EU Countries Wanting To Lift Sanctions From Belarusian Potash

Warsaw is seeking to tighten restrictive measures.

Work on new EU sanctions against Belarus has stalled due to a dispute over fertilizers. РАР writes about it. Poland's ambassador to the EU Andrzej Sadoś complained that the Swedish presidency is doing practically nothing to advance this work.

“The Swedes do practically nothing about it. We hoped that the Scandinavian Eastern Dimension Presidency would be ambitious. Unfortunately it didn't work. We were very disappointed by such a lack of ambition when it comes to sanctions against Belarus, which are so necessary in connection with the persecution of the opposition in this country, involvement in the war on the side of Russia, as well as plans to deploy nuclear weapons on its territory,” PAP quotes the representative of Poland with the EU.

According to the agency, sanctions are blocking some Western European countries. They want the introduction of new restrictions on Minsk to be accompanied by an easing of restrictions on the export of potash fertilizers. At the same time, Poland and the Baltic countries oppose such an option. The next meeting of EU ambassadors on the issue of Belarusian sanctions is to be held in the second half of April.

“We do not agree that the synchronization of Belarusian sanctions with Russian ones at the same time means the removal of restrictions on the main export product, which is Belarusian potash. We want new sanctions, but not at the cost of lifting the previously adopted ones,” Sadoś added.

He also stressed that arguments about food security are not relevant now. Thus, the price of wheat is already lower than it was before the war. Sadoś also explained that Belarusian potash fertilizers can be exported through Russia.

“We just want them not to be exported through Poland and Lithuania. The argument about food security is erroneous, because Belarusian potash has been replaced by Canadian potash on international markets,” the diplomat explained.