Andrzej Domański, attending the G20 gathering in Asheville, North Carolina, was responding to questions about the presence of Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov.
"I do not dispute the American presidency's right to invite guests, but I stress in our talks that Russia cannot be trusted because Russian officials notoriously lie," Domański said on Monday.
"Poland has a very firm position here; we believe constant pressure must be exerted on Russia by all possible means," he added.
European delegates criticized Siluanov's appearance and succeeded in having Russian officials excluded from the summit's group photo.
Domański said finance ministers bear primary responsibility for economic pressure, noting Poland's active role in successive rounds of sanctions against Moscow and its unequivocal support for using frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine.
He said the pressure was working, pointing to what he described as a deepening crisis in Russia's economy.
Siluanov held his first bilateral meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday.
According to the Reuters news agency, Bessent reiterated that Russia cannot expect sanctions relief before the war with Ukraine ends and pressed Moscow to accept President Donald Trump's peace plan.
Domański said Poland's role was to keep attention on Ukraine.
"Let us remember what continues to happen in Ukraine: Brutal Russian aggression is ongoing there, people are dying, civilians are dying," he said, citing a recent Russian attack on Kyiv that killed more than 30 people.
Russia's participation was also discussed during morning consultations among European Union finance ministers, Domański said.
He added that he held dozens of informal talks on the sidelines with counterparts from Japan, India, South Korea and Singapore, as well as with representatives of the African Union and the head of the International Monetary Fund.
Such conversations can often carry practical weight, he said.
One last year led to a visit by Poland's prime minister and finance minister to Turkey, he told reporters.
Domański said he raised Poland's bid for permanent G20 membership in each conversation, including with his British counterpart John Healey, as Britain is due to chair the G20 next year.
"We heard words of support from all our partners ... But of course, the decisive voice here will be Britain's," he said.
Domański later met separately with Bessent, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
He said Poland wants to secure a permanent G20 seat to help shape the international economic order and told his counterparts that Poland supports a rules-based system.
"Only in this way will we be able to build growth—if rules and regulations apply, rather than the law of the stronger," he said, advising "pragmatism and effectiveness" in policymaking.
He said the summit's first day of talks in Asheville was dominated by discussions about economic growth and the impact of artificial intelligence on productivity, with Poland asked to take a leading role in the session on growth.
Domański said Poland's economic performance, including productivity growth and efforts on deregulation and the energy transition, were increasingly recognized internationally and were helping build the country's soft power.
Private-sector executives, including representatives from US investment banks JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, as well as technology and industrial companies.
On AI, Domański said Poland's approach was centered on ensuring the technology serves people, arguing that without public support, technological change "won't really happen."
He said the Polish government was developing a model to support AI adoption and build infrastructure aimed at making Poland a regional leader in the field.
(jh/gs)
Source: PAP