In the opinion of Minister Rau, who represented Poland at the conference in place of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, the most important goal of the attendees is to prepare a political, legal and financial basis which will make it possible to lend comprehensible assistance to Ukraine in its reconstruction. “The key areas of our cooperation with Kyiv should be logistics and transport owing to a well-developed infrastructure of border crossings. Our considerable experience of presence on the Ukrainian market is also our asset,” said Minister Rau. The head of Polish diplomacy added that over two thousand Polish companies declared their readiness to take part in Ukraine’s reconstruction, which can do so together with foreign partners. In Minister Rau’s view, credit support offered by PKO Bank Polski to Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises also plays an important role.

In addition, the Polish MFA head remarked that Ukraine, destroyed as a result of an invasion by the Kremlin, in recent weeks has also suffered from the consequences of a flood caused by the blowing up of the dam spanning the Dnipro river in Nova Kakhovka by Russians.

“The magnitude of the disaster is overwhelming,” pointed out the minister, adding that Moscow should bear financial responsibility for its crimes, compensating Kyiv for the damage it caused.

Furthermore, the head of Polish diplomacy emphasised that the successful reconstruction of Ukraine is in the interest of the whole Europe. The foreign minister added that Ukraine should become a member of the European Union as soon as possible. “We can see that even in times of war the authorities in Kyiv are fulfilling the obligations related to launching accession negotiations with the European Union. We hope that by the end of 2023 the EU countries will make a favourable decision on this matter and the membership talks with Ukraine will become a reality,” stated Minister Rau.

 

MFA Press Office

Photo: Barbara Wojciechowska/MFA