Polish Government Denies Accusations of Not Inviting President Duda to Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC-2026), Calling Discussion Politically Motivated and Stating the Event’s Format Involves Government Delegations, Not Heads of State.
This was stated by Polish government spokesperson Adam Szłapka on Polsat News.
According to him, criticism from representatives of President Duda’s chancellery is a “game” because the event’s format is designed for government delegations, not presidents.
“Perhaps Mr. Rafał Leszczyński doesn’t know what different meeting formats look like. Minister Marcin Przydacz certainly knows this perfectly well, so when he questions it, it’s clear it’s a game,” Szłapka said.
He also noted that international events can take various forms. As an example, Szłapka cited meetings of Baltic and Northern European countries, previously organized by President Duda without government representation.
“At the beginning of his presidency, Mr. President also organized meetings with Baltic and Northern European countries, and that was his presidential formula at the time, concerning some security matters. He didn’t invite anyone from the government,” Szłapka explained.
He also recalled that the Ukraine Recovery Conference is an intergovernmental platform, emphasizing that at similar events in Germany and Italy, the presidents of those countries also did not participate.
“There is no malice here at all, but let’s be honest: the Presidential Palace has not shown an ounce of interest in this conference, except perhaps negative interest,” the Polish government spokesperson added.
Earlier, head of the Presidential International Policy Bureau, Marcin Przydacz, stated that President Duda had not received an invitation to URC-2026 in Gdańsk. Furthermore, he mentioned that previous conferences had the character of “raising funds for Ukraine.”
Prime Minister Svyrydenko to Lead Ukraine’s Delegation at URC-2026
On June 23, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced she would lead Ukraine’s delegation at the Ukraine Recovery Conference. President Zelenskyy was personally expected to attend, but due to strained relations with President Duda, his participation was uncertain. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga suggested that the head of state, after a report on readiness for the conference, “the consequences of these or other decisions and modalities of its conduct,” would announce his final decision on June 22.
On June 22, presidential advisor for communications, Dmytro Lytvyn, informed journalists that discussions about President Zelenskyy’s potential trip to URC-2026 were still ongoing.
In a comment to Suspilne, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Marta Kos, stated that over 5,000 participants are expected at URC-2026, with agreements to be signed for more than 20 recovery projects for Ukraine.
Stripping President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle
On the evening of June 19, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced that he had stripped Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the Order of the White Eagle, an award bestowed upon him in 2023 by the then-head of state, Andrzej Duda. This decision followed the Ukrainian leader’s decree to name a unit of the Armed Forces Special Operations Forces after the “Heroes of UPA.”
On June 20, Zelenskyy stated that he had sent the award by mail to President Duda’s chancellery. At the same time, he emphasized that despite this, Kyiv would continue to “be open to all substantive formats of interaction” with Warsaw.
Source: suspilne.media