Poland hopes the truckers’ dispute can be solved by year-end.

On Friday, Poland’s deputy minister of infrastructure expressed his optimism that the tensions that truck drivers have been experiencing at the border with Ukraine will be resolved before the year ends.

Since the 6th of November, Polish drivers have been blocking various crossings with Ukraine to demand that the European Union reinstall a system in which Ukrainian businesses are required to have permits to operate within the union, and trucks from Europe are required to have permits to enter Ukraine.

“We had a long meeting with my Ukrainian counterpart. Today we are agreeing on the last details that will lead to the final agreement,” said Pawel Gancarz, the deputy minister of infrastructure for Poland, during a news conference in Kyiv.

“I hope that after today’s meeting, before Christmas, there will be a meeting between (Polish Infrastructure) Minister Klimczak and the protest committee at the border. We hope that for Christmas, before the end of this year, this problem will be solved.”

An agreement on shared positions to open the border was reached due to the conference in Kyiv, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine. The parties have agreed to implement compromise measures and have established a consensus.

According to the statement, the next step in implementing a “plan of action” would entail negotiations between the Polish ministry and the truckers protesting.

After taking a little hiatus, Polish truck drivers brought their blockade of one of the most essential crossings at the Ukrainian border back into action this week. According to information from Poland’s Customs Office, the time spent waiting at the Dorohusk border on Friday was 78 hours.