Mateusz Morawiecki made the statement at an international conference on the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine in Berlin on Tuesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Berlin conference on Ukraine reconstruction
Entitled the International Expert Conference on the Recovery, Reconstruction and Modernisation of Ukraine, the event was co-hosted by the president of the European Union’s executive Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, officials said.
Guests included senior politicians, officials and CEOs from various countries, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who joined the event via video link from Kyiv, and Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, the PAP news agency reported.
‘Supporting Ukraine is the best guarantee for our security’
The Polish prime minister told the Berlin audience: “It is not enough to talk about the reconstruction of Ukraine. We have to talk about giving Europe and energy policy a new shape.”
He added: “The situation in Ukraine woke us up from this geopolitical nap and we now see a different perspective.”
Morawiecki stressed that Ukraine should receive “both military and financial assistance,” adding that financial support would be vital “not just in the coming few months, but throughout 2023.”
He thanked the EU's von der Leyen, the International Monetary Fund’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and representatives of other transnational organisations, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, “for recognising that we need to raise EUR 3-5 billion a month for Ukraine, to give it hope and a sign that it hasn’t been left alone.”
Morawiecki stated: “Supporting Ukraine is the best guarantee for our security.”
'Victory over Russia is getting closer'
He added: “Anyone who does not support Ukraine has either betrayed the values of our civilisation or has been fooled by Russia; or both.”
“The victory over Russia is getting closer, thanks to Ukraine's military successes and because a significant part of the Western world has shown determination,” the Polish prime minister told the Berlin conference.
Morawiecki went on to say: “We need to build a new security architecture to win the war with Russia.”
He added: “Ukraine is our fortress and it is our duty to invest in strengthening Ukraine. Russia should pay Ukraine war reparations.”
The Polish prime minister also called on Europe to "prove its strength because the world only respects the strong players,” urging bigger defence spending.
“Poland is already spending 3 percent of its GDP on defence and this figure will rise,” he said, adding that “Poland is proportionately the second-largest donor to the Ukrainian army, having spent 1 percent of its GDP on providing Ukraine with financial aid, humanitarian support and weapons supplies.”
Morawiecki warned that if Europe did not win the war against Russia, “we are risking more than just the loss of Ukraine’s security; we are risking the marginalisation of our whole continent,” the PAP news agency reported.
Tuesday was day 244 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, gov.pl, biznesalert.pl