Poland cancels talks with Ukraine on farmers’ protests due to suspicion of ex-Minister Solskyi
Poland has suspended talks with Ukraine on the protests of Polish farmers on the Ukrainian-Polish border because of suspicions of corruption against former Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi and his deputy Markiyan Dmytrasevych. Solsky is suspected of seizing land in the Sumy region.
Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Poland Michal Kolodziejczak said this in an interview with Dziennik Gazeta Prawna, Censor.NET reports.
According to him, Ukraine and Poland had planned another round of talks on 14 May, but they were cancelled because ‘some representatives from their (Ukrainian - ed.) side were accused of corruption’.
‘Obviously, we will not negotiate with people who are accused of corruption,’ Kolodziejczak said.
He added that ‘this issue should be clarified’.
In addition, the Polish deputy minister said that the protests of Polish farmers are almost over, and those that are still taking place from time to time are ‘organised by political order’.
In his opinion, these actions are organised by people who are ‘used to campaigning before the European Parliament elections’.
Charges against former Minister Solskyi
On 23 April, the NABU served Solskyi with a notice of suspicion of organising a scheme to seize state land of about 2,500 hectares worth UAH 291 million under the pretext of allocating land to ATO veterans.
According to the investigation, in 2017-2021, Solskyi, as the owner of a number of agricultural companies, in collusion with the head of the StateGeoCadastre of Ukraine and supervisors of the StateGeoCadastre bodies, decided to take possession of land used by two state-owned enterprises in Sumy region.
The criminals first destroyed the documents on the basis of which the state-owned enterprises had the right to use the land permanently. This became the basis for the regional StateGeoCadastre to draw up an act on the unauthorised occupation of these plots by state-owned enterprises.
Subsequently, these lands were transferred to private ownership with the help of controlled officials of the regional StateGeoCadastre. The land was transferred to pre-determined citizens under the guise of exercising their right to free land, and the condition for receiving the land was to sign an agreement to lease it to an agricultural holding before receiving it.
Solskyi pleaded not guilty and stated that the events relate to the period of 2017-2018, when he was a lawyer.
On 25 April, the minister wrote a letter of resignation.
Subsequently, Solskyi was taken into custody with an alternative bail of UAH 75.7 million. He was later released on bail.
On 9 May, the Verkhovna Rada dismissed him from the post of Minister of Agrarian Policy.
