Poland does not rule out introducing a ban on the import of agricultural products from Russia, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Thursday during a visit to Warsaw by his Latvian colleague Evika Silina, who has already introduced such a ban.

Like much of Europe, Poland has been gripped by protests in recent weeks as farmers have demonstrated against European Union environmental rules and what they say is unfair competition from Ukraine, as the bloc scrapped tariffs on Ukrainian imports in 2022, Agerpres writes.

However, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that agricultural products from Russia and Belarus also cause market distortion.

“Latvia has decided to introduce an embargo on the import of (agricultural) products from Russia,” Tusk said at a press conference, Reuters reports. “We will analyze the case of Latvia, and I do not rule out that Poland will take a similar initiative,” he added.

Tusk said the European Union should “seriously focus on better regulation when it comes to grain and food imports from the East”.