EU ends import restrictions on Ukrainian grain, Hungary and Poland ignore measure

• The European Commission announced on Friday that it was ending the ban imposed by five European Union (EU) states – Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia – on imports of Ukrainian cereals, to protect their farmers. Brussels made this decision in exchange for a commitment from kyiv to control the influx of grain into neighboring countries.
• In the process, Hungary has decided to unilaterally strengthen the ban on imports of Ukrainian grain. A little after, Poland and Slovakia also announced that they were extending the embargo.
• Romania, for its part, “regretted” Brussels’ decision, saying it would wait for kyiv’s action plan before implementing possible measures. Unlike its neighbors, Bulgaria announced on Thursday that it was lifting the embargo.
• The Parliament of the Latvia approved on Friday the centrist government formed by the new Prime Minister, Evika Silina, who promised to strengthen the armed forces and continue to support Ukraine against Russian aggression.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be received Thursday, September 21 at the White House for discussions with United States President Joe Biden about supporting Kiev against the Russian invasion, a senior American official confirmed Friday.
• Russia will not boycott the next Olympic Gamesassured the president of the Russian Olympic Committee, Stanislav Pozdniakov, affirming that every Russian athlete was free to choose whether he wanted to participate under a neutral banner or not.
• According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, 300,000 men “ready to sacrifice their lives in the interests of their homeland” have signed a contract with the Russian armed forces since “six to seven months”. This is what he declared during a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko.
• The Kremlin said Friday it was satisfied with the progress of the investigation into the plane crash that killed the head of the Wagner Group, Evgueni Prigozhin, although no explanation has been put forward more than three weeks after the accident. Ukraine and the West suspect revenge from the Kremlin, a theory that Moscow rejects.

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