Moscow and Warsaw to work out transportation deal - Polish Ministry
Russia and Poland say they are ready to work out a new agreement on cargo to avoid future haulage permit problems, according to the Polish Ministry of Infrastructure.
"Polish trucks can leave Russia before February 15 without any obstacles," the ministry said in a statement Thursday after the last round of Russian-Polish negotiations.
According to Russian Deputy Transport Minister Nikolay Asaul, the next round of negotiations will take place in Russia.
An agreement allowing trucks to move cargo between Russia and Poland expired on January 31. The Russian Transport Ministry said Warsaw refused to propose a new deal on cargo permits for 2016. As a result, Russian and Polish truck drivers have been stuck at border crossings since Monday.
On average, 600 trucks from Poland enter Russia daily, each of them could earn up to €2,500 per day, according to the Polish Association of International Carriers.
Statistics from the International Trade Centre show that last year Poland was eleventh among Russia’s foreign trade partners. Russian exported $9 billion worth of goods to Poland in the eleven months of 2015. Imports from Poland to Russia (mostly consumer goods) were worth $3.7 billion in the same period, compared with $6.6 billion in 2014.
Restrictions on Russian and Polish cargo transportation could have “consequences and multimillion-dollar losses not only for our countries but also for other European countries," business development director for QB Finance Margarita Gorsheneva was cited as saying by Lenta.ru. She suggests that could push the two sides towards a quick compromise to avoid further losses.
