Mateusz Morawiecki made the declaration at a media briefing in Warsaw on Thursday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Asked if Poland would cut itself off Russian LPG, Morawiecki replied: “We will renounce liquefied petroleum gas from Russia by the end of the year.”
He added: “We are preparing infrastructure and alternative sources of imports so that there are no imports from Russia.”
Morawiecki told reporters that Poland had prepared “the most radical plan for shaking off Russian hydrocarbons: oil, gas and coal” in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
He said that LPG, “which is used by more than 3 million car users in Poland and also to heat houses,” would no longer be bought from Russia under the plan.
According to the Polish Liquid Gas Organisation (POGP), Poland imported some 1.3 million metric tons of LPG from Russia in 2020, accounting for more than a half of domestic consumption, the PAP news agency reported.
Ban on Russian coal, freeze on Russian assets
Meanwhile, the lower house of Poland's parliament on Wednesday gave final approval to a sanctions bill that includes an import embargo on coal from Russia and Belarus as well as an assets freeze against Kremlin-linked individuals and businesses that are subject to European Union sanctions, according to public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency.
The legislation now heads to President Andrzej Duda for signature.
Talks with EU on funds for refugee support
At Thursday’s news conference, Morawiecki told reporters that Poland "has not yet received any new financing from the European Commission” for its "efforts to integrate people fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine."
He said that "despite the lack of fresh EU funding so far," his government was "conducting talks with Brussels with the utmost calmness and understanding.”
He added: “Whatever needs to be financed now, we are funding from our own resources."
Thursday was day 50 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Poland on Thursday reported it had welcomed 2.73 million refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP