Szymon Szynkowski vel Sęk made the statement at a media briefing in the western Polish city of Poznań on Monday, state news agency PAP reported.
Conference on reconstruction of Ukraine
He was speaking ahead of the International Expert Conference on the Recovery, Reconstruction and Modernisation of Ukraine, scheduled to take place in the German capital Berlin on Tuesday.
Organised by the Group of Seven rich nations and the European Commission, the event was expected to bring together policymakers from countries that provide support to Ukraine as well as NGO activists, experts, academics and private-sector leaders, according to officials.
Szynkowski vel Sęk told reporters that the Berlin conference’s main panel discussion would feature Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, among other politicians, with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky joining the conversation via video link from Kyiv.
Ukraine’s key allies 'should have biggest say' in reconstruction
The Polish minister for European affairs said: “In our view, the reconstruction of Ukraine should be based on the principle that those countries that are most active in helping Ukraine today, should have the biggest say.”
Szynkowski vel Sęk added that Poland would propose “further steps, further measures” for the postwar rebuilding of Ukraine.
“We believe that Poland, which launched the discussion on the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine, and which leads the way in various forms of assistance to Ukraine, should also take an active and leading role in this process.”
Szynkowski vel Sęk noted that Poland in May hosted an international donor conference where the topic of postwar reconstruction of Ukraine was discussed for the first time.
Co-organised with Sweden, the event raised EUR 6.5 billion for Ukraine, Szynkowski vel Sęk said.
'Frozen wealth of Russian oligarchs'
He also told reporters that Poland would “consistently demand” that the reconstruction of Ukraine be "funded mainly by the frozen wealth of Russian oligarchs."
He said: “The responsibility should be borne first and foremost by those who support the regime that is violating international law and that has caused destruction in Ukraine. There is an understanding of that, but to translate it into concrete measures requires discussion.”
Ukraine’s Shmyhal said at a German-Ukrainian business forum in Berlin on Monday that the postwar reconstruction of his country would cost at least USD 750 billion, the PAP news agency reported.
Tuesday is day 244 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, ec.europa.eu