The discussions focused on the current war situation and the multidimensional support of Poland and the international community for Ukraine in its fight against the aggressor. The delegations also discussed the issue of rebuilding the country. The Polish government explicitly declared support of our companies for the reconstruction of destroyed towns in Ukraine. Another issue addressed revolved around mitigating the effects of the invasion in many areas of Ukraine's economic and social life.

"This was a conversation of friends, of allies. A conversation that, I am deeply convinced, will go down in our common history and will be regarded as a very important step in the direction we all care about," emphasised Deputy Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński.

A new stage in mutual relations

Prime Minister Morawiecki spoke about a new Polish-Ukrainian treaty on good neighbourliness. The document would aim to sum up the experience gained during 30 years of cooperation and open a new stage of mutual relations.

“The documents signed by the governments are a prelude to completely different cooperation, one that Ukraine has not had with any other country until now. They may become a prelude to a new Polish-Ukrainian treaty, which we will be discussing in the upcoming weeks, months and quarters. These common interests create completely new perspectives," said the head of the Polish government.

The Prime Minister also expressed his gratitude for the symbolic unveiling of the lion statues at the Eaglets Cemetery in Lviv.

Poland has always supported its eastern neighbours in many different ways. The visit of the Prime Ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia to Kyiv, or the recent speech of President Andrzej Duda – who was the first head of state to do so under wartime conditions – to the Ukrainian Parliament are examples of this support. We hope that other countries, in particular in the European Union, will once again follow the example of the Polish government.

"I believe that Russia is increasingly frightened of Polish-Ukrainian relations. How these relations are developing, solidifying, and strengthening. How we can build the future based on the present," added the Prime Minister.

Consequences for Russia

Representatives of Poland and Ukraine once again stressed that Russia must pay the highest possible price for its brutal attack on Ukraine. Prime Minister Morawiecki presented information on the sixth package of sanctions, which was adopted at the last meeting of the European Council.

"I am glad that last night we concluded negotiations on the sixth package of sanctions, which included a ban on the import of Russian oil into the European Union. The sequence of reducing this import to zero is slightly different for just a few EU countries. This does not in any way diminish the enormous blow to the Russian state budget and the Russian economy as a whole. This is one of the main sources of income in Russia and it is good that we have managed to convince everyone in the European Union that Russia must lose this source of income," stressed the Prime Minister.

Poland is working on proposals for further sanction instruments. During the meeting, the government representatives also discussed the legal conditions for punishing those who commit crimes on the territory of Ukraine, including people responsible for the decision to invade and those who are leading this invasion.

Reconstruction and integration of Ukraine

The head of the Polish government declared the support of our companies for the reconstruction of Ukraine. He also emphasised that the rebuilding of the country from destruction should be financed from the resources of Russian entities and oligarchs. This requires their successive takeover by the international community.

The issue of deepening Ukraine's integration with the European Union was also discussed during the consultations. Poland reiterated its support for Kyiv's European perspective. We have been in favour of granting Ukraine the status of a candidate country ever since our eastern neighbour submitted its application.

"We will do everything we can to convince the sceptics within the European Union that Ukraine not only deserves to become a candidate country quickly. If it depended on us, Ukraine would join the European Union very soon. We will persuade all of our partners from the European Union to do the same," stated the head of the Polish government.

The joint statement and inter-ministerial cooperation

The intergovernmental consultations concluded with the signing of the "Joint Statement upon the Outcomes of the Polish-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Consultations" by Prime Ministers Morawiecki and Shmyhal. This document defines priority areas of bilateral cooperation and provides for the organisation of further consultations in 2023 in Warsaw.

 

Several inter-ministerial documents were also signed or adopted, including:

• Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of National Memory between the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine;
• Joint Declaration between the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy of the Republic of Poland and the Ministry of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine;
• Joint Declaration of the Ministers of the Interior of the Republic of Poland and Ukraine on Maximum Cooperation at the Level of Border Services;
• Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Energy between the Ministry of Climate and Environment of the Republic of Poland and the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine;
• Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Environmental Protection between the Ministry of Climate and Environment of the Republic of Poland and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine;
• Memorandum of Understanding between the Chancellery of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of State Assets of the Republic of Poland and the Ministry of Strategic Industries of Ukraine on the Establishment of a Joint Polish-Ukrainian Permanent Commission for the Cooperation of Polish and Ukrainian Economic Entities;
• Memorandum of Understanding on the Development of Trade Facilitation Instruments between the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology of the Republic of Poland and the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine.

Common prospects for the future

The discussions did not focus solely on issues relating to Russian aggression and its consequences. The Polish and Ukrainian delegations also talked about joint infrastructural, scientific, educational, cultural and sports projects. The Polish-Ukrainian historical dialogue will continue. We anticipate collaborative activities in connection with the commemoration of anniversaries of the January Uprising, the Great Famine and the "Polish Operation" of the NKVD.

These issues were also addressed during a separate meeting between Prime Minister Morawiecki, Deputy Prime Minister Kaczyński and President Zelensky.