Ukraine thinks that “the world revolves around it” and that it can “do anything, ask for anything,” and it’s demands will be met at once, Gabor Stier, senior foreign policy analyst at the conservative Hungarian daily Magyar Nemzet and member of the Valdai Discussion Club told Sputnik.
It is very problematic that as of late, Kiev has been adopting such an “unacceptable” stance even with its biggest ally, Poland, the expert said, adding:
“This is wrong. Kiev does not understand that in European societies and, by the way, even in Polish society, war fatigue is already acutely felt. And I would like to emphasize once again that other countries have their own interests to pursue. And if someone does not want to understand this, then they get what they get in return.”
Furthermore, what Kiev is doing is “diplomatically counterproductive,” Gabor Stier pointed out.
Earlier, Ukrainian Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka said Kiev would file a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the ban of Ukrainian grain imports by Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. "It is important to prove that these actions are legally wrong. And that's why we will start legal proceedings tomorrow [on Monday]," Kachka told a newspaper on Sunday. The official called the bans "ridiculous," adding that they would probably affect a significant part of Ukraine's exports, forcing Kiev to introduce retaliatory sanctions and prohibit the import of fruits and vegetables from Poland.
Later on Monday, the WTO told Sputnik that it had not received any request from Ukraine to initiate dispute proceedings over the ban on the country's grain imports.
Most of the aforementioned states have previously eagerly signaled their support for the Kiev regime. Poland has been especially "sympathetic," sending weapons and providing training to Ukrainian troops. On this occasion, Warsaw urged the European Union to prolong its embargo on Ukrainian food imports, including corn, wheat, sunflower and rapeseed, on September 12, but the plea went unheeded.
The new row brewing within the EU over Ukrainian grain has laid bare the “hypocrisy” of EU countries when their own interests are at stake. The scandal also indicates how swiftly the tide might turn against the Kiev regime when the question of its future fate comes up on the agenda.
“We live in Europe, we have our own interests, especially in neighboring countries, in Central Europe, where dumping of Ukrainian grain on the markets destroys [these countries’] agriculture... And I think it’s normal if these countries oppose Ukrainian imports or exports. I think everyone should look out for their own interests. That is what Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia are doing,” Gabor Stier said.
Regarding Poland, one needs to remember that the country is facing looming parliamentary elections in a month, the pundit added.
As for the European Union, Gabor Stier emphasized that its actions regarding Ukrainian grain were puzzling.
“If the European Union, as many people in Brussels think, is, so to say, ‘one state,’ then what they did was a betrayal. If not… if this is a union of different states, then all I can say is that Brussels does not understand, or does not want to understand the interests of its own members.”
Gabor Stier also recalled how when the Grain Deal was being pushed through a year ago, there was a clamor in the West that "the world was starving, Africa was starving." Then send it to Africa, the pundit stressed, adding that if Western Europe wants to buy grain to feed its livestock, "because that's what they buy it for," then let it.
“Ukraine’s interests are not the only ones out there,” the expert reiterated, adding:
"The example with grain exports, and the battles and disputes… show what will happen if Ukraine becomes a member of the European Union… Then this mentality and this behavior will destroy the European Union. And if the European Union does not understand this, then there will be big and serious problems.”
Weighing in on how the current row over Ukraine’s grain might affect its EU membership aspirations, Gabor Stier said:
“I hope that some kind of sobering effect is happening, and more and more countries, and people are beginning to see... the true face of Ukrainian nationalism for what it is.”
Ukraine itself, with its actions, is "helping everyone understand" the problems that Kiev becoming a member of the European Union would be fraught with, Stier concluded.