Volodymyr Zelensky made the statement at a summit of the regional drive in the Latvian capital Riga, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The Ukrainian president made a speech to the Three Seas summit via video link from Kyiv.
Before the event, he spoke to Polish President Andrzej Duda, according to news outlets.
‘Ukraine should be part of Three Seas Initiative’
Zelensky told the gathering: “We should be a participant in the Three Seas Initiative. Our country shouldn’t be left out of it. Let’s find a way for Ukraine to join this initiative.”
He added: "Only with Ukraine will all our countries be able to realise their full potential."
Logistics, energy, postwar reconstruction
Zelensky called for cooperation between Ukraine and the Three Seas club in logistics, energy, cybersecurity and digitisation.
“The Three Seas countries are our link with the free world,” he said.
The Ukrainian president also noted that by pooling gas resources, the Three Seas countries, together with Ukraine, could meet all of each other’s needs for the raw material.
Zelensky encouraged Three Seas Initiative countries to take part in the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine, calling the plan “the biggest economic project of our generation.”
‘We are ready’
“The Three Seas Initiative needs Ukraine’s potential. We are ready, we want it,” he stated.
Earlier, Zelensky held a phone call with the Polish president to coordinate positions before the summit.
Poland’s ‘unwavering' assistance
Ukraine’s head of state later tweeted: “Had a conversation with Polish President Andrzej Duda. Thanked for the unwavering important defence assistance, as well as for the support of granting EU candidate status for Ukraine.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also made a video address to the Riga summit, reiterating Washington’s support for the Three Seas Initiative, the PAP news agency reported.
Three Seas Initiative
The Three Seas Initiative brings together EU countries between the Baltic, Black, and Adriatic Seas: Poland, Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Hungary.
It seeks to deepen political, economic, energy and infrastructure ties between its members.
Monday is day 117 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP